2022 Winners

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022 results gallery

Welcome to the Underwater Photographer of the Year winner's collection 2022.

Restriction on travel over the last year may have stopped many photographers visiting their favourite waters, but it hasn’t stifled their creativity as you can see from the stunning photos on this page. UPY aims to celebrate underwater photography in all its forms and we are delighted that this year’s awarded images represent many genres and are produced by photographers from around the world. The winners below reveal amazing ocean spectacles and species, and capture vistas from flooded mines to deep shipwrecks, while many more come from home countries and some are even taken in swimming pools. But what unites them all, is that they are all photographs that are worth our time to dive into and explore. Enjoy!

Alex Mustard (on behalf of the whole UPY team)

Don't forget: this years' winning images, backstories, judge's comments and full shooting information are available in the Yearbook

Award Winners

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022: 'Dancing with the giants of the night'
Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Spain)

Rafael Fernandez Caballero from Spain talks about how it feels to have won Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022

Up and coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022: 'Supernova in paradise'
Quico Abadal (Spain)

Quico Abadal from Spain talks about his shot which won the Up & Coming category and Up and coming Underwater Photographer of the Year in UPY 2022.

British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022: 'A 3.5m great white curiously approaches my lens'
Matty Smith (Australia)

Matty Smith from Australia talks about his shot which won him British Underwater Photographer of the Year in UPY 2022.

Most Promising British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022: 'Diamonds and Rust'
Paul Pettitt (UK)

Paul Pettitt from the United Kingdom talks about the shot which won Most Promising British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022.

My Backyard Award 2022: 'All You Need Is Love'
Pekka Tuuri (Finland)

Pekka Tuuri from Finland talks about his shot which won the Behaviour category and the My Backyard Award in UPY 2022.

‘Save Our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2022: 'Season of anchovy fishery'
Thien Nguyen Ngoc (Viet Nam)

Thien Nguyen Ngoc from Viet Nam talks about his shot which won the ‘Save our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation category in UPY 2022.

Wide Angle

Winner: 'Dancing with the giants of the night'
Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Spain)

Rafael Fernandez Caballero from Spain talks about his shot which won the Wide angle category in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'Sunset Ray'
Andy Schmid (Switzerland)

Third: 'Against All Odds'
Hannah Le Leu (Australia)

Highly Commended: 'Shapes of life'
Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Spain)

Highly Commended: 'Bear Bridge'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Highly Commended: 'The great mother'
Daisuke Kurashima (Japan)

Highly Commended: 'Impressions of Antoni Gaudi'
Jingle Guo (China)

Commended: 'Devil's Ear'
Fan Ping (China)

Commended: 'Hunting sea lions'
Nicolai Posininsky (Germany)

Commended: 'Under the sunset'
David Gallardo (Turks and Caicos Islands)

Macro

Winner: 'Mimicry'
Javier Murcia (Spain)

Javier Murcia from Spain talks about his shot which won the Macro category in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'City of Angels'
David Alpert (UK)

Third: 'Green Fire'
Hannes Klostermann (Mexico)

Highly Commended: 'Goby on a Sea Pen'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Sharpear Enope Squid in a defensive pose'
Andre Johnson (United States)

Highly Commended: 'Bubble Trouble'
Nur Tucker (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Banded Coral Shrimp Gladiator'
Ron Watkins (United States)

Commended: 'Goosefish'
Steven Kovacs (United States)

Commended: 'HALLOWEEN'
Ipah Uid Lynn (Malaysia)

Commended: 'Banded Coral Shrimp'
Richard Condlyffe (United States)

Wrecks

Winner: 'Abandoned ship'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Alex Dawson from Sweden talks about his shot which won the Wreck category in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'Glassfish Synchronicity'
Catherine Holmes (UK)

Third: 'Coral on the Kittiwake'
Karlo Macas (Croatia)

Highly Comended: 'The huge tanker'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Highly Commended: 'The Gunboat Uller'
René B. Andersen (Denmark)

Highly Commended: 'Wreckdiving in the Red Sea'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Highly Comended: 'Front of the Wreck'
Lorincz Ferenc Lorinc (Hungary)

Commended: 'Salem Express'
Christian Horras (Germany)

Commended: 'The Captain Dan at Night'
Jack Israel ( United States)

Commended: 'Fortunal'
Damir Zurub (Croatia)

Behaviour

Winner: 'All You Need Is Love'
Pekka Tuuri (Finland)

Pekka Tuuri from Finland talks about his shot which won the Behaviour category and the My Backyard Award in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'The circle of life'
Javier Murcia (Spain)

Third: 'Hunting'
Damir Zurub (Croatia)

Highly Commended: 'Galaxy'
JingGong Zhang (China)

Highly Commended: 'Pike fight'
Luc Rooman (Belgium)

Highly Commended: 'Circle of Life'
Jules Casey (Australia)

Highly Commended: 'Two courting eastern kelpfish'
Matty Smith (Australia)

Commended: 'Hitchhiker'
Steven Kovacs (United States)

Commended: 'Love Bite'
Jake Wilton (Australia)

Commended: 'Take Cover'
Luke Gordon (UK)

Portrait

Winner: 'Rapunzel on Fire'
Thomas Heckmann (Germany)

Thomas Heckmann from Germany talks about his shot which won the Portrait category in UPY 2022

Runner Up: 'A 3.5m great white curiously approaches my lens'
Matty Smith (Australia)

Third: 'Longevity Meditation'
Daniele Comin (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'Eternally Grumpy'
Matthew Sullivan (United States)

Highly Commended: 'Sea Soul'
Fabio Iardino (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'Waiting Game'
Prelevic Milos (Serbia)

Highly Commended: 'White house'
Reiko Takahashi (Japan)

Commended: 'Planktonic Observer'
Mark Tilley (UK)

Commeded: 'Hippo portrait'
Mike Korostelev (Russian Federation)

Commended: 'Magical Fairy Wisps'
Jenny Stock (UK)

Black and white

Winner: 'Sarah’s Underwater World'
Kerrie Burow (Australia)

Kerrie Burow from Australia talks about her shot which won the Black & White category in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'Evening with sharks and birds'
Borut Furlan (Slovenia)

Third: 'Water Dimension'
James Rokop (United States)

Highly Commended: 'Waking from a dream'
Martyn Guess (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Honeycomb Moray eel moment'
Yazid El Shaari (Oman)

Highly Commended: 'Speedy Seal'
Saeed Rashid (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Floating Mountains'
Martin Broen (United States)

Commended: 'The curves of a leopard shark'
Matty Smith (Australia)

Commended: 'Savage Jaw'
Jenny Stock (UK)

Commended: 'Freedom'
Nicolas Hahn (Argentina)

Compact

Winner: 'Peace'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Enrico Somogyi from Germany talks about his shot which won the Compacts category in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'Headspace'
James Rokop (United States)

Third: 'Colors of a Quarry'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Ad Astra'
Andrea Michelutti (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'Carp in the river a few days after a flood'
Jack Berthomier ( New Caledonia)

Highly Commended: 'Paradox'
Rodolphe GUIGNARD (France)

Highly Commended: 'Fish and Sky'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Commended: 'Alone in the reef'
Todor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)

Commended: 'Moving'
Andrea Falcomatà (Italy)

Commended: 'Cardinalfish and Bubbles'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Up and coming

Winner: 'Supernova in paradise'
Quico Abadal (Spain)

Quico Abadal from Spain talks about his shot which won the Up & Coming category and Up and coming Underwater Photographer of the Year in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'Beauty on a red anemone skirt'
Yazid El Shaari (Oman)

Third: 'The adventures of Captain Lisa'
Quico Abadal (Spain)

Highly Commended: 'Tail'
Erika Miura (Japan)

Highly Commended: 'Back from the light chamber'
Sebastien Delautier (France)

Highly Commended: 'I'm the fastest!'
Giacomo Rossi (Mexico)

Highly Commended: 'Saupe and Seagrass'
Alexander Venn (France)

Commended: 'Barbadian splendid Long spine Squirrelfish'
Simon Heron (UK)

Commended: 'Sun lit Sea Lion'
David Slater (United States)

Commended: 'Cargo Deck'
Christian Horras (Germany)

British Waters Wide Angle

Winner: 'Gannet Storm'
Henley Spiers (UK)

Henley Spiers from the United Kingdom talks about his shot which won the British Waters wide angle category in UPY 2022

Runner Up: 'Grayling in summer sunlight'
Paul Colley (UK)

Third: 'Yawn'
Henley Spiers (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Below the blue line'
Mark Kirkland (UK)

Highly Commended: 'The little monsters'
Paul Colley (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Coldwater garden'
Leena Roy (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Blue Shark Portrait'
Nicholas More (UK)

Commended: 'Chopper'
Marcus Blatchford (UK)

Commended: 'Anglerfish on the James Eagan Layne'
Kirsty Andrews (UK)

Commended: 'Hiding lobster'
Saeed Rashid (UK)

British Waters Macro

Winner: 'Best Buddies'
Dan Bolt (UK)

Dan Bolt from the United Kingdom talks about his shot which won the British Waters Macro category in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'Hello!'
Dan Bolt (UK)

Third: 'Diamonds and Rust'
Paul Pettitt (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Paternal care'
Cathy Lewis (UK)

Highly Comended: 'Goby at the window'
Simon Temple (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Shirmp in green'
Dan Bolt (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Spawning sea urchin'
Trevor Rees (UK)

Commended: 'Tompot Blues'
James Emery (UK)

Commended: 'The Boatman'
Paul Colley (UK)

Commended: 'Out of the gloom'
Martyn Guess (UK)

British Waters Living Together

Winner: 'A peaceful coexistence'
Lewis Michael Jefferies (UK)

Lewis Michael Jefferies from the United Kingdom talks about his shot which won the British Waters Living Together in UPY 2022

Runner Up: 'SS Persier'
Kirsty Andrews (UK)

Third: 'Snug in my pipe'
Alison Pettitt (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Inquisitive cuttlefish'
Saeed Rashid (UK)

Highly Commended: 'A pleasant day'
Tony Reed (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Freediving freedom'
Dan Bolt (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Time to leave'
Rick Ayrton (UK)

Commended: 'Among the pier legs'
Alison Pettitt (UK)

Commended: 'Coll pier'
Kirsty Andrews (UK)

Commended: 'Swanage Pier Swarm'
Paul Pettitt (UK)

British Waters Compact

Winner: 'Rock pool star'
Martin Stevens (UK)

Martin Stevens from the United Kingdom talks about his shot which won the British Waters Compacts category in UPY 2022

Runner Up: 'Fluorescent Fireworks'
James Lynott (UK)

Third: 'The Dragonets lair'
Tony Reed (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Space invader'
Sandra Stalker (UK)

Highly Comended: 'Boop!'
Georgie Bull (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Early morning jellyfish'
Martin Stevens (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Shooting Octopus'
Paula Bentley (UK)

Commended: 'Rise Up'
Ian Wade (UK)

Commended: 'Sparring spider crabs'
Martin Stevens (UK)

Commended: 'Fluo rockpool'
James Lynott (UK)

‘Save our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation

Winner: 'Season of anchovy fishery'
Thien Nguyen Ngoc (Viet Nam)

Thien Nguyen Ngoc from Viet Nam talks about his shot which won the ‘Save our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation category in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'Fishermen camp'
Fabrice Dudenhofer (France)

Third: 'In the net'
Pasquale Vassallo (Italy)

Highly Comended: 'Microplastic sent to the stomach'
Sebnem Coskun (Turkiye)

Highly Commended: 'Deadly plastics'
Javier Murcia (Spain)

Highly Commended: 'Too Little too Late?'
Alex Lindbloom (Indonesia)

Highly Commended: 'Water Tree'
Shane Gross (Canada)

Commended: 'Deadly appetite'
Kevin De Vree (Belgium)

Commended: 'The defeat of the king'
Boshen Qian (China)

Commended: 'Deadly reflections with a happy ending'
Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Spain)

My Backyard

Winner: 'All You Need Is Love'
Pekka Tuuri (Finland)

Pekka Tuuri from Finland talks about his shot which won the Behaviour category and the My Backyard Award in UPY 2022.

Runner Up: 'Mimicry'
Javier Murcia (Spain)

Third: 'Hello!'
Dan Bolt (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Beauty on a red anemone skirt'
Yazid El Shaari (Oman)

Highly Commended: 'Rock pool star'
Martin Stevens (UK)

This years' winning images, back-stories, judge's comments and full shooting information are available in the Yearbook

UPY 2025

2022 Winners

Award Winners

Wide Angle

Macro

Wrecks

Behaviour

Portrait

Black and white

Compact

Up and coming

British Waters Wide Angle

British Waters Macro

British Waters Living Together

British Waters Compact

‘Save our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation

My Backyard

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