2024 Winners

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024 results gallery

Welcome to the Underwater Photographer of the Year winner's collection 2024.

"Dive into the winning images from UPY 2024! This year we attracted a record number of entrants and a record number of pictures – thank you to every photographer who entered. As always, the collection is a great reminder that while underwater photography is a specialist discipline, there is huge diversity within it. Our winning photographers come from around the world, as do their images. It is such an exciting time in underwater photography because photographers are capturing such amazing new images, by visiting new locations and using the latest cameras. Please enjoy every single picture."

Alex Mustard (Chair of the UPY Jury)

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 2024: 'Whale bones'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Alex Dawson from Sweden talks about his surprise and delight at being named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024.

Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024: 'Window of Opportunity'
Lisa Stengel (United States)

Lisa Stengel from the United States talks about her shot which won her the title Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024.

'Save Our Seas Foundation' Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2024: 'Saving Goliath'
Nuno Sá (Portugal)

Nuno Sá from Portugal talks about his shot which won the 'Save Our Seas Foundation' Marine Conservation category in UPY 2024.

British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024: 'Star Attraction'
Jenny Stock (United Kingdom)

Jenny Stock from the United Kingdom talks about her shot which won her the title British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024.

Most Promising British Underwater Photographer 2024: 'Midnight raver'
Sandra Stalker (United Kingdom)

Sandra Stalker from the United Kingdom talks about her shot which saw her named as Most Promising British Underwater Photographer 2024.

Marelux Wide Angle

Winner: 'Whale bones'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Wide Angle Category Winner Alex Dawson, from Sweden, speaks about his winning image "Whale Bones" from UPY 2024, live at the UPY Awards.

Runner Up: 'Wild and Free'
Remuna Beca ( United States)

Third: 'Twilight smile'
Rodolphe Guignard (France)

Highly Commended: 'Umbrella'
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan) (Spain)

Highly Commended: 'March of the Tadpoles'
Shane Gross (Canada)

Highly Commended: 'Lara wreck'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Highly Commended: 'Sunset on the skin'
Isaias Cruz (Spain)

Commended: 'Sprats circle the Sarcophyton'
Peter J Mumby (Australia)

Commended: 'In Celebration'
Geo Cloete (South Africa)

Commended: 'Wonderful Walruses'
Celia Kujala (United States)

Macro

Winner: 'An abstract portrait of a Potbelly Seahorse'
Talia Greis (Australia)

Talia Greis from Australia talks about her shot which won the Macro category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Lonesome drifter'
Dennis Corpuz (Philippines)

Third: 'Double Pygmy'
Byron Conory (Iceland)

Highly Commended: 'Magic lionfish'
Sergey Shanin (Russian Federation)

Highly Commended: 'Green & Red'
Sunbong Jung (Korea, Republic of)

Highly Commended: 'Seahorse Silhouette'
Patrick Neumann (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Red sea'
Ben Oakes (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Razor Gang'
Nicholas More (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Sympathy for the devil'
Ludovic Galko-Rundgren (France)

Commended: 'The Eggheads'
Jenny Stock (United Kingdom)

Wrecks

Winner: 'Chieftain Tanks'
Martin Broen (United States)

Martin Broen from New York, talking about his winning image "Chieftain Tanks" from the Wreck Category of UPY 2024, at the UPY Awards in London.

Runner Up: 'Illuminating the Past'
Becky Kagan Schott (United States)

Third: 'Set sail'
Fabi Fregonesi (Brazil)

Highly Commended: 'Inside the SS Thistlegorm wreck'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Highly Commended: 'Takeoff'
Christian Horras (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Breaking Point'
Becky Kagan Schott (United States)

Highly Commended: 'Lockheed TriStar L-1011'
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan) (Spain)

Commended: 'Simply Audacious!'
Kieran Hatton (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Bell AH-1F Cobra'
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan) (Spain)

Commended: 'The Parat'
Guilhem Duprat (United Kingdom)

Behaviour

Winner: 'The End Of The Baitball'
Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Spain)

Rafael Fernandez Caballero from Spain talks about his winning picture from the Behaviour Category of UPY 2024 "The End Of The Baitball".

Runner Up: 'Mouth To Mouth'
JingGong Zhang (China)

Third: 'A tiger shark feeds on a humpbackwhale carcass'
Brooke Pyke (Australia)

Highly Commended: 'The Birthday'
Kenji Sato (Japan)

Highly Commended: 'Carp Love'
Lorincz Ferenc Lorinc (Hungary)

Highly Commended: 'Mahi Mahi Madness'
Wojciech Dopierala (Poland)

Highly Commended: 'The Great Sardine Caper'
Giacomo Antonio Rossi (Mexico)

Commended: 'The Bait'
Manuel Castellanos Raboso (United States)

Commended: 'Raja Ampat'
E.Acevedo (Spain)

Commended: 'Whats for dinner'
Saeed Rashid (United Kingdom)

Portrait

Winner: 'Grey Whale Connection'
Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Spain)

Rafael Fernandez Caballero from Spain talks about his winning picture "Grey Whale Connection" in the Portrait Category of UPY2024.

Runner Up: 'Attack from Above'
Jon Anderson (United States)

Third: 'Aquatic Primate'
Suliman Alatiqi (Kuwait)

Highly Commended: 'Zombie'
Matthew Perez (United States)

Highly Commended: 'Dolphins portrait'
Tetsuji Akimoto (Japan)

Highly Commended: 'Ol' Blue Eyes'
Nicholas More (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'The Birth of a Mermaid'
Thomas Heckmann (Germany)

Commended: 'Open Wide'
Filippo Borghi (Italy)

Commended: 'Friendly Orca'
Andy Schmid (Switzerland)

Commended: 'Eye to eye'
João Rodrigues (Portugal)

Black & White

Winner: 'Water Dancers'
Jasmine Skye Smith (Australia)

Jasmine Skye Smith from Australia talks about her shot which won the Black & White category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Two Great White Sharks cruising over seagrass beds'
Matty Smith (Australia)

Third: 'Tursiop dolphins at the surface of Mayotte lagoon'
Serge Melesan (France)

Highly Commended: 'Squadron Formation'
Richard Condlyffe (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Synchronized'
Merche Llobera (Spain)

Highly Commended: 'Synchronised Batfish'
Jade Hoksbergen (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Playtime'
Shane Gross (Canada)

Commended: 'Metamorphosis'
Jasmine Skye Smith (Australia)

Commended: 'Diving on the track'
Frank Aron (Germany)

Commended: 'Thresher shark portrait'
Gillian Marsh (United Kingdom)

Compact

Winner: 'Nudi on Fire'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Enrico Somogyi from the Germany talks about his shot which won the Compact category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Octopus Attack'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Third: 'Bottlenose dolphin swimming in the lagoon'
Ilaria Mariagiulia Rizzuto (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'Lord of snow'
Andrea Michelutti (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'Circle of life'
Andrea Michelutti (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'School of juvenile parrot fish'
Ilaria Mariagiulia Rizzuto (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'A different crib'
Andrea Michelutti (Italy)

Commended: 'Kiss me'
Andrea Michelutti (Italy)

Commended: 'Subass in the Sun'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Commended: 'Sexy Dancer on spot'
Ben Sarinda (Indonesia)

Up & Coming

Winner: 'Window of Opportunity'
Lisa Stengel (United States)

Lisa Stengel from the United States talks about her shot which won the Up & Coming category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Encircled'
Sarah OGorman (Egypt)

Third: 'Lion's Lair'
Bryan H. Blauvelt (United States)

Highly Commended: 'Where the Light Doesn't Reach'
Luke Coley (Mexico)

Highly Commended: 'The Harlequin Bar'
Kim Briers (Thailand)

Highly Commended: 'The Parent Trap'
Andrew Zimmerman (United States)

Highly Commended: 'River dolphin surfaces in Amazon's mystic depths'
Olivier Clement (Canada)

Commended: 'Dark Paradise'
John Pfisterer ( United States)

Commended: 'Dental check today?'
Yinan Liu (China)

Commended: 'Golden surface break'
Tim Glaeser (Germany)

British Waters Wide Angle

Winner: 'Divebomb'
Kat Zhou (United States)

Kat Zhou from the United States talks about her shot which won the British Waters Wide Angle category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Bass bass bass'
Kirsty Andrews (United Kingdom)

Third: 'U-Boat exploration'
Rick Ayrton (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Lion's mane jellyfish'
Lars von Ritter Zahony (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Catshark in the morning sunshine'
Martin Stevens (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'What the Duck?!'
Jenny Stock (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Cat Shark Over Mussel Beds'
Henley Spiers (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Sunny sunstar'
Dan Bolt (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Iris'
Thomas Harper (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Sea Hare'
Shannon Moran (United Kingdom)

British Waters Macro

Winner: 'Star Attraction'
Jenny Stock (United Kingdom)

Jenny Stock from the United Kingdom talks about her shot which won the British Waters Macro category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Midnight raver'
Sandra Stalker (United Kingdom)

Third: 'Moonlight wonderland'
Sandra Stalker (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Brave butterfish'
Kirsty Andrews (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Pondweed King'
Laura Storm (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'A protective mother'
Saeed Rashid (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Wolf-fish stare'
Mark Kirkland (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Disco on the dance floor'
Tony Reed (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Blue-rayed limpets on kelp'
Martin Stevens (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Scorpion Eyes'
Henley Spiers (United Kingdom)

British Waters Living Together

Winner: 'Bottled blenny'
Kirsty Andrews (United Kingdom)

Kirsty Andrews from the United Kingdom talks about her shot which won the British Waters Living Together category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Pier leg life'
Kirsty Andrews (United Kingdom)

Third: 'British Beauties'
Lewis Jefferies (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Curious cuttlefish'
Saeed Rashid (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Friend or foe'
Sandra Stalker (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Floating in a storm'
Jay Kural ( United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Home sweet home'
Dan Bolt (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Plymouth Reef'
Dan Bolt (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Fishy ship'
Rick Ayrton (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Plumose Pier'
Billy Arthur (United Kingdom)

British Waters Compact

Winner: 'Catshark in Bootlace'
Jon Bunker (United Kingdom)

Jon Bunker from the United Kingdom talks about his shot which won the British Waters Compact category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Fluorescent Fire'
James Lynott ( United Kingdom)

Third: 'Singled out'
James Lynott (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'All the stars in motion'
Tony Reed (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Saw Point Blue'
Jon Bunker (United Kingdom)

: 'Safe in the tentacles'
James Lynott (United Kingdom)

Highly Commended: 'Glowing prawn'
James Lynott (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Angry Strawberry'
Jon Bunker (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Perfect Protanthea'
James Lynott (United Kingdom)

Commended: 'Sheigra Gulley'
Cathy Hollingdale (United Kingdom)

Save our Seas Foundation Marine Conservation

Winner: 'Saving Goliath'
Nuno Sá (Portugal)

Nuno Sá from Portugal talks about his shot which won the 'Save Our Seas Foundation' Marine Conservation category in UPY 2024.

Runner Up: 'Helping Hands for Cornwall's Lobsters'
Lewis Jefferies (United Kingdom)

Third: 'Very bad luck'
Javier Murcia (Spain)

Highly Commended: 'Ganvié'
Pavlos Evangelidis (Benin)

Highly Commended: 'Artificial habitat'
João Rodrigues (Portugal)

Highly Commended: 'Lesser evil?'
Michal Bazala (Poland)

Highly Commended: 'The rings of death'
Javier Murcia (Spain)

Commended: 'Caught by'
Klaudyna Brzostowska (Poland)

Commended: 'Wounded giant manta ray'
Sirachai Shin Arunrugstichai (Thailand)

Commended: 'Raising The Net'
Renee Capozzola (United States)

UPY 2025