The winning photos of the Underwater Photography Guide's 2022 Underwater Art Photography Competition have been announced. Entries came from 96 countries across 14 different award categories.
Kat Zhou took home the top prize with her work “Mother Octopus,” an image that captures the meaning of motherhood. In the photo, we see a mother octopus with her tentacles wrapped around her eggs. Incubating her eggs means the end of her life, as the octopus does not eat while caring for the eggs and dies shortly after giving birth.
Take a look at the winning images from the Ocean Art 2022 Competition below:
Kat Zhou's first prize winning photo “Octopus Mother” was taken in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
“Cassiopea in the Blue” by Alessandro Buzzichelli. Photo taken with a mobile phone in Cala Liberotto, Italy
“Reflection Mirror” by Kuo-Wei Kao, Portrait category, taken in Pinglin, Taiwan
“Tendons” by Aleksei Permiakov. Nudibranch category, taken in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia
"A Sad Catch" by Lawrence Alex Wu. Underwater Conservation Category
“Wunderpus” by Regie Casia taken in Anilao, Philippines
“The End of Anemone Time” by Sheryl Wright. Photographed in Anilao, Philippines
PT Hirschfield's compact behavior entry titled "Male Grass Dragon Carrying Pink Eggs on Tail" photographed in Victoria, Australia
“Climb Up” by Veronika Nagy. Photo taken in British Columbia, Canada
“The Hunt” by Daniel Nicholson. Shot on Ningaloo Reef, Australia
“Jaws” by Yannick Gouguenheim. Shot in Southeast France
“Ready to Fly” by Josh Raia. Shot in Florida, USA
“Rare Spotted Handfish from Tasmania” by Nicolas Remy in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
“Woman in Red” by Matthew Sullivan. Taken in Florida, USA
Judge Nirupam Nigam was amazed by the entries: “I am looking forward to an ‘Instagrammable’ moment in the show. Each entry is a photographic masterpiece that poetically reflects the natural world around us. These stunning images will definitely be etched in my mind for years to come.”
