2018 winning images

"The standard of this year's entry was even better than last year... and that should in no way belittle last year's because they blew us away then!" Peter Rowlands, Chair of the jury 2018

Award Winners

Underwater Photographer of the Year: 'CYCLE-WAR'
Tobias Friedrich (Germany)

British Underwater Photographer of the Year: 'Love Birds'
Grant Thomas (UK)

Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year : 'ROAR'
Man BD (Malaysia)

Most Promising British Underwater Photographer: 'How many pike?'
Tony Stephenson (UK)

Wide Angle

Winner: 'Humpback whale spy hopping'
Greg Lecoeur (France)

Runner Up: 'Surrounded'
Fan Ping (China)

Third: 'Evening Snorkel'
Brook Peterson (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Breathtaking'
Tobias Friedrich (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'The real illusion'
Konstantin Killer (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Cenote Nariz'
Herbert Meyrl (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Cooking Sausage'
Pekka Tuuri (Finland)

Commended: 'Blacktip Rendezvous'
Renee Capozzola (USA)

Commended: 'Tannic water at Cenote Carwash'
Tom St George (Mexico)

Commended: 'Down the stream'
Wendy Timmermans (Netherlands)

Macro

Winner: 'Seahorse Density'
Shane Gross (Canada)

Runner Up: 'Friend or Food?!'
Songda Cai (China)

Third: 'The Shadow'
Kenji Cheow (Malaysia)

Highly Commended: 'Ghost'
Davide Lopresti (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'Pretty lady'
TianHong Wang (China)

Highly Commended: 'Blue fish'
Ace Wu (Taiwan)

Highly Commended: 'Black-Saddle Snake Eel'
Marchione dott. Giacomo (Italy)

Commended: 'Lovers on the bridge'
Yatwaiso (Hong Kong)

Commended: 'Blue nudibranch'
Ace Wu (Taiwan)

Commended: 'Bubble'
K.Zhang (China)

Wrecks

Winner: 'CYCLE-WAR'
Tobias Friedrich (Germany)

Runner Up: 'Safe Navigation'
Gianni Pecchiar (Italy)

Third: 'TRUCK-NOBIA'
Tobias Friedrich (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Perfect Wheel'
Pekka Tuuri (Finland)

Highly Commended: 'Stuka'
Pekka Tuuri (Finland)

Highly Commended: 'Unusually Parked Car'
Pekka Tuuri (Finland)

Highly Commended: 'OCD Diver Tries To Right Shipwreck'
Susannah H. Snowden-Smith (Cayman Islands)

Commended: 'MV Karwela'
Marcus Blatchford (UK)

Commended: 'Bells n Helms'
Kieran Hatton (UK)

Commended: 'BSA M20 Motorbike'
Anders Nyberg (Sweden)

Behaviour

Winner: 'The Fisherman'
Filippo Borghi (Italy)

Runner Up: 'In Hinding'
Scott Gutsy Tuason (Philippines)

Third: 'Gannets feeding'
Greg Lecoeur (France)

Highly Commended: 'Nurse shark mating is no gentle affair'
Shane Gross (Canada)

Highly Commended: 'The Birth'
Filippo Borghi (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'Tiger sharks feeding on sperm whale carcass'
Chris Burville (Bermuda)

Highly Commended: 'Honu Love At Dusk'
Renee Capozzola (USA)

Commended: 'Spinning Anthias'
Anders Nyberg (Sweden)

Commended: 'Hyppocampus guttulatus coupling dance'
Adriano Morettin (Italy)

Commended: 'Attack'
Mika Saareila (Finland)

Portrait

Winner: 'A sand tiger shark surrounded by tiny bait fish'
Tanya Houppermans (USA)

Runner Up: 'The Nose'
Mike Korostelev (Russian Federation)

Third: 'Under The Wave'
Rodney Bursiel (USA)

Highly Commended: 'A reflective green turtle hatchling'
Matt Curnock (Australia)

Highly Commended: 'Pretty In Pink'
Nicholas More (UK)

Highly Commended: 'One of the last ones'
Robert Marc Lehmann (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Oceanic white tip shark'
Greg Lecoeur (France)

Commended: 'Imprisonment'
André Musgrove (Bahamas)

Commended: 'Australian Sea Lion'
Greg Lecoeur (France)

Commended: 'Jump'
Davide Lopresti (Italy)

Black & White

Winner: 'Crocodile reflections'
Borut Furlan (Slovenia)

Runner Up: 'Graceful manta'
Sylvie Ayer (Switzerland)

Third: 'Angels of the Deep'
Santosh Shanmuga (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Nohoch Na Chich'
Herbert Meyrl (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Gravity'
Miguel Pereira (Portugal)

Highly Commended: 'The Talk'
Rodney Bursiel (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Morning Flight'
Filippo Borghi (Italy)

Commended: 'BW Goby'
Anders Nyberg (Sweden)

Commended: 'Hypnosis'
Wendy Timmermans (Netherlands)

Commended: 'Seal'
Sylvie Ayer (Switzerland)

Compact

Winner: 'Dancing with the giants'
Simone Matucci (New Zealand)

Runner Up: 'Flower power'
Jack Berthomier (New Caledonia)

Third: 'Frogfish Illusion'
Ipah UiD (Malaysia)

Highly Commended: 'Night reflection of a juvenile garfish'
Jack Berthomier (New Caledonia)

Highly Commended: 'At the Surface'
Stephen Holinski (Canada)

Highly Commended: 'Crop Circle'
Ipah UiD (Malaysia)

Highly Commended: 'Kootenay Lake'
Stephen Holinski (Canada)

Commended: 'Tres Amigos'
Sarah Vasend (USA)

Commended: 'Elvis'
Stefano Cerbai (Italy)

Commended: 'Manta Frenzy'
Ali Shujau (Maldives)

Up & Coming

Winner: 'ROAR'
Man BD (Malaysia)

Runner Up: 'The Hammer'
Jacob Degee (Poland)

Third: 'Migration'
Austin Ferguson (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Synchronised ballet of bull sharks'
Sylvie Ayer (Switzerland)

Highly Commended: 'Colored'
Hannah Nies (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Hummingfish'
Brian Eckstein (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Whale shark and remores'
Marchione dott. Giacomo (Italy)

Commended: 'Beautiful'
Rupert Cornelius (Mozambique)

Commended: 'A lagoon glimpse'
ROMAIN BARATS (France)

Commended: 'Ruby'
Clarissa Ace (Indonesia)

British Waters Wide Angle

Winner: 'Love Birds'
Grant Thomas (UK)

Runner Up: 'Shark Speed'
Nicholas More (UK)

Third: 'Fresh Otter at Sea'
Greg Lecoeur (France)

Highly Commended: 'Courtship'
Spencer Burrows (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Humpback whale'
Richard Shucksmith (UK)

Highly Commended: 'How many pike?'
Tony Stephenson (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Fried Egg Anemones at 'Pixie Gardens''
Paul Kay (UK)

Commended: 'Humber'
Marcus Blatchford (UK)

Commended: 'Basking shark feeding'
Will Clark (UK)

Commended: 'Feeding sturgeon in a cloud of silt'
Trevor Rees (UK)

British Waters Macro

Winner: 'Battle of the Tompots'
Henley Spiers (UK)

Runner Up: 'Topshell tapestry'
Cathy Lewis (UK)

Third: 'Colourful Corkwing'
Kirsty Andrews (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Moons above'
Lucy Kay (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Leopard-spotted goby'
Trevor Rees (UK)

Highly Commended: 'In a sea of squirts'
Paul Kay (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Swarm'
Rick Ayrton (UK)

Commended: 'Blenny and brittlestars'
Cathy Lewis (UK)

Commended: 'Nudibranch across the kelp'
Trevor Rees (UK)

Commended: 'Firework fountain'
Cathy Lewis (UK)

British Waters Compact

Winner: 'Scratchy Seal'
Vicky Paynter (UK)

Runner Up: 'Intertwined Mute Swans'
Ian Wade (UK)

Third: 'Curled Octopus'
James Lynott (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Smile please!'
Martin Edser (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Octopus vulgaris'
Guy Mitchell (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Squat Lobster'
Paula Bailey (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Out of the Darkness'
Guy Mitchell (UK)

Commended: 'Peek-a-boo!'
Martin Edser (UK)

Commended: 'The Plaice to be'
Guy Mitchell (UK)

Commended: 'Pike Patrol'
Mark Launchbury (UK)

Underwater Photography Book of the Year

Winner: 'Manta: Secret Life Of Devil Rays'
Guy Stevens & Thomas P. Peschak

Runner Up: 'The Sea Lions of Los Islotes - The Jewel of Espiritu Santo'
Luke Inman

UPY 2025