Jaw-Dropping Winners Of Ocean Photographer of the Year Stun With Hungry Whale, Tiny Poison Octopus, And More

The world’s finest coastal, drone, surf and underwater photographers competed in this year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024, providing a window into the watery world often hidden and far away from human eyes. Rafael Fernández Caballero has been named the overall winner and Ocean Photographer of the Year for his jaw-dropping image of a rare Bryde’s whale about to consume a heart-shaped baitball.

“The image captures perhaps the most special – and craziest – moment of my life. It fills me with joy having lived this moment – and to have captured the image,” says Caballero. Caballero’s image was chosen from more than 15,000 submissions. Winners in the competition’s categories have also been revealed, the winners spotlight the most impactful images within categories such as Conservation, Wildlife, Adventure and more.

Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024

In addition to Rafael Fernández Caballero’s winning image of a Bryde’s whale (see above), these two other photographers won second and third place.

2nd place, Jade Hoksbergen. A northern gannet, one of the largest seabirds in British waters, dives into the water to catch its prey. Isle of Noss, Shetland Islands

3rd place, Thien Nguyen Ngoc. A fishing boat off Hon Yen as its long trail of smoke perfectly aligns with the shape of the green nets under the surface. Vietnam

Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year (Hope)

Category Winner: Shane Gross.
A green sea turtle is released by a researcher in the Seychelles after being caught while trying to catch sharks. Acting quickly, the researchers untangled the turtle, took measurements, and tagged it before releasing her back where she was caught.

Second place: Edwar Herreño Parra.
A whale shark swims alongside the Sharkwater research vessel, a ship that was initially used by the Japanese fishing fleet but is now used for research. Cocos Island, Costa Rica

Third place: Matty Smith. An endangered White’s seahorse in Sydney Harbour. Their numbers have been in decline due to human activities but due to conservation programmes and captive breeding and release, their numbers are happily recovering. Sydney, Australia

Ocean Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Category Winner: Manuel Castellanos Raboso
A triumphant mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish proudly displays its catch amidst a feeding frenzy. Baja California Sur, Mexico

Second place: Rafael Fernández Caballero.
A marine iguana sits on a rock. Unlike other iguanas around the world, these are the only ones that have evolved to swim and feed underwater, holding their breath for up to 60 minutes. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Third place: Andrey Shpatak.
A giant Pacific octopus in the shallows. Russia

Ocean Fine Art Photographer of the Year

Category Winner: Henley Spiers. Juvenile Munk’s devil rays are attracted by a green light, seemingly flying through the water. Baja California Sur, Mexico

Spiers writes, “Born during the great mobula aggregations of spring, Juvenile Munk’s devil rays (mobula munkiana) remain in the Sea of Cortez long after their parents have left, using the shallow bays of Espiritu Santo as a nursery. By autumn, the water is clear, a bonus for underwater photography but also signifying less food for the filter feeding rays. Hanging a green light from the back of our boat, plankton gathers around it and the mobula rays gratefully swoop in for a microscopic buffet. The munkiana seem to fly through the water as they pursue their dinner. Entranced by their grace, I used a 2 second exposure to capture their movements which to my eye, felt like an aquatic ballet.”

Second place: Julien Anton. A close-up shot of a nurse shark’s eye.
Tahiti, French Polynesia

Third place: Mark Williams. An orca exhales on the surface. Vancouver Island, Canada

Highly Commended: Enric Adrian Gener.
A seagull rests on top of a sea turtle shortly before they both continue their own paths.
Mediterranean Sea

The Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean

Category Winner: Zhang Xiang.
A beach reflects the golden haze of the sunset, while a traditional fisherman wades through the water. China

Second place: Romeo Bodolai.
A fisherman uses a traditional fishing technique. Myanmar

Third place: Yue Hongjun. 
A freediver with her customised fishtail swims amidst a school of sardines. Moalboal, Philippines

Female Fifty Fathoms

Malaysian photographer Ipah Uid Lynn is the recipient of this year’s Female Fifty Fathoms Award. The Award celebrates pioneering and inspirational women in ocean photography. Reflecting on her nomination and win, Lynn says: “Receiving the Female Fifty Fathoms Award is an incredible honour and validation of the passion and dedication I’ve poured into my work over the years. It feels surreal and deeply gratifying.”

A whale shark surrounded by a swirling school of fish at night. The Maldives

A tiny goby perched on a delicate sea whip. Romblon Island, Philippines

A member of the Bajau holds a fishing spear in a traditional wooden boat. Selakan Island, Malaysia

Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year (Impact)

Category Winner: Frederik Brogaard.
The second biggest whale, the fin whale, lies waiting for its turn to be butchered at a whaling plant in Iceland before getting sent to Japan. Iceland

Second place: Rebecca Douglas.
A gannet, entangled in discarded fishing gear, hangs off a cliff. Isle of Noss, Shetland Islands

Third place: Andrew Sullivan-Haskins.
Freedivers from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project work to remove a large ghost net from waters of the uninhabited Pearl and Hermes Atoll, Hawaii. At this point, the team had been working for nearly two months straight and removed almost 200,000 pounds of ghost nets from this Marine Protected Area.

Highly commended: Celia Kujala.
A polar bear plays with a piece of plastic – a stark reminder that even the uninhabited reaches of the Arctic are not exempt from the pervasive grip of plastic pollution. Kiepert Island, Svalbard

Ocean Portfolio Award

Winner: Shane Gross. Baby plainfin midshipman fish, still attached to their yolk sacs. British Columbia, Canada

A male and female pink salmon spawn as their last act before perishing and feeding the forest in Campbell River. British Columbia, Canada

An endangered chupare stingray feeds on a sand flat at dawn. The Bahamas

2nd place – Ocean Portfolio Award Katherine Lu. A poison ocellate octopus or mototi on a pyrosome, a pelagic colony of tunicates. Anilao, Philippines

Katherine Lu writes, “The poison occelate octopus is a cousin to the blue ring octopus. Both share the same deadly toxins. The mototi is marked with 2 blue rings, one on each side of the head while the blue ring octopus has many rings all over the body. Shot during the blackwater night dive in Anilao Philippines. Every night in the ocean, the great vertical migration occurs where deep sea creatures rise to the shallower layers of the ocean where light penetrates during the day to feed, mate, under the cover of darkness before returning to the depths by the morning. This mototi is a juvenile, measuring around 2cm in length and riding on a pyrosome. Pyrosome’s are pelagic colonies of tunicates. Sometimes you see creatures on them using them to rest or as a mode of transportation.”

A group of lemon sharks breaks the surface at sunset. The Bahamas

A juvenile wunderpus octopus shows off its translucent body. Anilao, Philippines

3rd place – Ocean Portfolio Award. Filippo Borghi. One of the Southern Ocean’s most formidable predators, the leopard seal. Antarctica

A school of sardines swirls in unison, while predators such as sea lions, dorado and diving seabirds hunt them from above and below. Baja California Sur, Mexico

A fever of mobula rays, their movements fluid and hypnotic. Baja California Sur, Mexico

Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year

Category Winner: Tobias Friedrich. Wreck of the Sea Trader near Nassau with a diver holding a dive light and swimming towards the wreck, Bahamas, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean.

Second place: Sébastien Bachellereau.
A surfer rides an epic wave, a bright rainbow forming behind it. New South Wales, Australia

Third place: Daan Verhoeven.
Freediver Sun Young Kim dives in the ‘no fins’ category at Vertical Blue 2021, a freediving competition, in the famous Dean’s Blue Hole. The Bahamas

Young Ocean Photographer of the Year

Category Winner: Jacob Guy.
An elusive algae octopus shows off its fluorescence under ultraviolet light. North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Second place: João Pontes.
A perfectly camouflaged lizardfish with prey in its mouth.

Third place: Julian Jacobs. A California moray eel pauses at the surface of its rapidly shrinking world as the tide goes out. California. “During an early morning’s negative tide, a California Moray Eel (Gymnothorax mordax) pauses at the surface of its rapidly shrinking world. Younger morays will use the tidepools as a veritable buffet, tearing through intertidal residents until they’re ready to move into deeper waters,” writes Jacob Guy.

The Ocean Photographer of the Year is presented annually by Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain, with a simple mission: to shine a light on the wonder and fragility of our blue planet, and to celebrate the photographers giving it a voice.

Visit Ocean Photographer of the Year for details about the awards, to see more highly commended photographers, and to learn more about the competition.