2025 Winners

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025 results gallery

"You are in the right place! Below you will find the feast of awarded images from the 2025 Underwater Photographer of the Year contest, following our largest ever entry. Please devour the photographs, but also savour the accompanying backstories from the photographers. It is a truly international spread, these winners come from photographers from 30 different countries.

As it says on our tin, we’re an underwater imaging contest, and while this is a niche discipline, UPY always surprises with its diversity of imagery. Of course you will see natural history pictures of amazing ocean wildlife, but these are alongside swimming pool shots of Olympic athletes, a view of camels from inside of a water butt and a rarely seen, let alone photographed shipwreck, from more than 100m below the surface. Each image tells you something more about the seven tenths of our planet’s surface that is underwater."

Alex Mustard (Chair of the UPY Jury)

Award Winners

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025: 'Radiant Bond'
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan) (Spain)

Alvaro Herrero (Mekan) from Spain talks about his shot which won him the title of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025

Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025: 'Aurora Underwater'
Ruruka (Korea)

Ruruka from Korea talks about his shot which won him the title of Up & Coming Photographer of the Year 2025

'Save Our Seas Foundation' Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2025: '1 / 200.000.000'
Robert Marc Lehmann (Germany)

German photographer, Robert Marc Lehmann, was named ‘Save Our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2025.

British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025: 'The Curious Seal'
David Alpert (UK)

David Alpert from the UK talks about the image that won him the title of British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025

Most Promising British Underwater Photographer 2025: 'Fluo Spiny Squat Lobster'
James Lynott (UK)

James Lynott form the UK talks about his image that won him the title of Most Promising British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025

Wide Angle

Winner: 'Radiant Bond'
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan) (Spain)

Alvaro Herrero (Mekan) from Spain talks about his shot which won the Wide Angle category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Ethereal Moonscape'
Alvaro Herrero (Mekan) (Spain)

Third: 'New Moon Madness'
Joost van Uffelen (Netherlands)

Highly Commended: 'Underwater Study 104'
John Pfisterer (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Flight in the Golden Forest'
Kate Vylet (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Blanquito Over/Under'
Dawn McDonald (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Spinner dolphins of the Sataya Reef'
Mehmet A. Gungen (Turkiye)

Commended: 'Aggregation of Mobula Rays in Baja California'
Vanessa Mignon (Australia)

Commended: 'Shark Ballet'
Fabrice Dudenhofer (France)

Commended: 'Circle of Life'
Chong Wan Yong (Malaysia)

Macro

Winner: 'Magic backlit'
Paolo Bondaschi (Italy)

Paolo Bondaschi from Italy talks about his shot which won the Macro category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Dazzling Donut Doto'
Bryan H. Blauvelt (USA)

Third: 'Disco Lion'
Nicholas More (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Donald Duck Vintage Style'
Paolo Isgro (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'An Artistry Coral Home for Scorpion Shrimp'
Weiwei Zeng (China)

Highly Commended: 'Juvenile Emperor Angelfish'
Adam Martin (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Ghost of the reef'
Simon Biddie (UK)

Commended: 'Octopus riding a solitary salp'
Magnus Lundgren (Sweden)

Commended: 'Yawning Bangai baby'
Patrick Neumann (Indonesia)

Commended: 'Seehorse Shadow'
Doris Vierkötter (Germany)

Wrecks

Winner: 'Deep wreck'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Alex Dawson from Sweden talks about his shot which won the Wrecks category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Deep Sea Birds'
Wojciech Dopierala (Poland)

Third: 'Coast Guard SG115'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Highly Commended: 'WW1 wreck'
Alex Dawson (Sweden)

Highly Commended: 'Jura wreck'
Frank Aron (Germany)

Highly Commended: 'Truk truck'
Rick Ayrton (UK)

Highly Commended: 'In the tornado'
Jean-Baptiste Cazajous (France)

Commended: 'Sunburst Shipwreck'
Renee Capozzola (USA)

Commended: 'Control Room of the Rio'
Martin Broen (USA)

Commended: 'Two worlds collide - sky and water'
Jantina Scheltema (Netherlands)

Behaviour

Winner: 'Face Off'
Shunsuke Nakano (Japan)

Shunsuke Nakano from Japan talks about his shot which won the Behaviour category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'The Moment'
Eduardo Acevedo (Spain)

Third: 'The Mach'
Lorincz Ferenc Lorinc (Hungary)

Highly Commended: 'Attack of the Blue Dragons'
Henley Spiers (UK)

Highly Commended: 'The Survivors'
Richard Barnden (USA)

Highly Commended: 'California newts laying eggs'
Anton Sorokin (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Entwined in Blue'
Yazid Shaari (Libya)

Commended: 'Giants of the Deep'
Jonas Beyer (Denmark)

Commended: 'Expectant Parents'
Mark Chang (Philippines)

Commended: 'Little Monster in the Mouth'
Wen Chou Wu (Taiwan)

Portrait

Winner: 'Hydration'
Abdulaziz Al Saleh (Kuwait)

Abdulaziz Al Saleh from Kuwait talks about his shot which won the Portrait category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Amazon river dolphin silhouette'
Hussain Aga Khan (Switzerland)

Third: 'A Frondly Snoot Boop'
Patrick Webster (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Alpenwatersalamander'
Luc Rooman (Belgium)

Highly Commended: 'Eye Contact'
Jonas Beyer (Denmark)

Highly Commended: 'Snapping Turtle Stare'
Isaac Szabo (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Harmony Beneath the Waves'
George Kuo-Wei Kao (Taiwan)

Commended: 'Strike a Pose'
Fabrice Dudenhofer (France)

Commended: 'Scar face'
Yinan Liu (China)

Commended: 'Inside-Out & Upside-Down'
Marcus Greatwood (UK)

Coral Reefs

Winner: 'Kaleidoscope of Colour'
Catherine Holmes (UK)

Catherine Holmes from the UK talks about her shot which won the Coral Reefs category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Gardens of the Caribbean Reef Shark'
Jenny Stock (UK)

Third: 'Beautiful Sea Forest'
Hitomi Tsuchiya (Japan)

Highly Commended: 'Slender Filefish in a Gorgonian'
Sage Ono (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Mangrove Coral Paradise'
Renee Capozzola (USA)

Highly Commended: 'Reflections of a Humphead Wrasse'
Joe Daniels (France)

Highly Commended: 'Shark Night'
Joe Daniels (France)

Commended: 'Underwater Colorful Snowstorm: Coral Spawning'
Dr. Tom Shlesinger (Israel)

Commended: 'Coral Reef PNG'
Luc Rooman (Belgium)

Commended: 'The End Of Corals'
Ishino (Japan)

Black & White

Winner: 'Chasing Dolphins'
Enric Gener (Spain)

Enric Gener from Spain talks about his shot which won the Black & White category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Water Zen'
James Rokop (USA)

Third: 'Grayscale Reverie'
Nur Tucker (UK)

Highly Commended: 'The Dutch Tompot Blenny'
Luc Rooman (Belgium)

Highly Commended: 'Blue Shark Reflections'
Pietro Cremone (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'The Big Meeting'
Mike Korostelev (Russian Federation)

Highly Commended: 'Shimmer'
Toh Xing Jie (Singapore)

Commended: 'Curious Pup'
Jon Anderson (USA)

Commended: 'Invasion'
Rosie Richards (Australia)

Commended: 'The Scream!'
Pietro Cremone (Italy)

Up & Coming

Winner: 'Aurora Underwater'
Ruruka (Korea)

Ruruka from Japan talks about his shot which won the Up & Coming category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Clost encounters of the giant kind'
Christian Hut (Singapore)

Third: 'Pink Cheeks'
Autumn Martin (Canada)

Highly Commended: 'Eternal Love'
Fin He (China)

Highly Commended: 'Banggai Ablaze'
Ross Makulec (Indonesia)

Highly Commended: 'Shower of Light'
Ruruka (Korea)

Highly Commended: 'Manatees Sheltering in a Spring on a Starry Night'
Joseph Ricketts (USA)

Commended: 'Kelp Bliss'
Christine Hartley (USA)

Commended: 'On Approach'
Ronja Arnold (Germany)

Commended: 'An Alligator Rests Below Tall Reeds in a Spring'
Joseph Ricketts (USA)

Compact

Winner: 'The Beauty of the Swamp'
Bryant Turffs (USA)

Bryant Turffs from the USA talks about his shot which won the Compact category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Giant Frogfish'
Enrico Somogyi (Germany)

Third: 'Blue Planet'
Jenny Stock (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Chromatic Dance'
Andrea Michelutti (Italy)

Highly Commended: 'Resilience Beneath the Surface'
Martin Mayobre

Highly Commended: 'Fire in the tunnel'
Ben Sarinda (Indonesia)

Highly Commended: 'White Whale'
Adam McKnight (Australia)

Commended: 'Misfire'
Jo Taylor (Australia)

Commended: 'Endemic Elegance: Gasflame Nudibranch'
Kate Jonker (South Africa)

Commended: 'Shades of Red'
Alopa (Italy)

British Waters Wide Angle

Winner: 'The Curious Seal'
David Alpert (UK)

David Alpert from the UK talks about his shot which won the British Waters Wide Angle category in UPY 2025.

Runner Up: 'Curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) with soft coral'
Simon Temple (UK)

Third: 'Bass shoal'
Rick Ayrton (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Jellyfish hangout'
Martin Stevens (UK)

Highly Commened: 'Rainbow seaweed at sunrise'
Martin Stevens (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Catshark in Kelp'
Shannon Moran (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Suspended in Time'
Guy Trees (UK)

Commended: 'From mud grow the flowers'
Hector Clarke (UK)

Commened: 'Bow of SS Hans Jensen'
Rick Ayrton (UK)

Commended: 'Above the Rain Forest'
Dave Peake (UK)

British Waters Macro

Winner: 'The Hitch Hiker'
Dan Bolt (UK)

Dan Bolt from the UK talks about his shot which won the British Waters Macro category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Fluo Spiny Squat Lobster'
James Lynott (UK)

Third: 'Stars and Stripes'
Sandra Stalker (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Reticulated dragonet spawning'
Cathy Lewis (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Common hermit crab with painted topshell'
Simon Temple (UK)

Highly Commended: 'The Rush'
Dan Bolt (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Fluo Shark Eyes'
James Lynott (UK)

Commended: 'Three's a Crowd'
Ryan Stalker (UK)

Commended: 'Dreamscape'
Sandra Stalker (UK)

Commended: 'Searching for a Lady Dragon'
David Alpert (UK)

British Waters Living Together

Winner: 'Rusty Haven'
Dan Bolt (UK)

Dan Bolt from the UK talks about his shot which won the British Waters Living Together category in UPY2025.

Runner Up: 'Take a Deep Breath'
Guy Trees (UK)

Third: 'SS Baygitano'
Kirsty Andrews (UK)

Highly Commended: 'A Mischievous Encounter'
David Alpert (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Real Estate'
Sandra Stalker (UK)

Highly Commended: 'SS Persier'
Kirsty Andrews (UK)

Highly Commended: 'Home is a plastic square'
Terry Griffiths (UK)

Commended: 'Mermaid and the seaweed'
Martin Stevens (UK)

Commended: 'Under the Spotlight'
James Harris (UK)

Commended: 'Nest Guardian'
Atanas Petrov (UK)

Save our Seas Foundation Marine Conservation

Winner: '1 / 200.000.000'
Robert Marc Lehmann (Germany)

German photographer, Robert Marc Lehmann, was named ‘Save Our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2025.

Runner Up: 'Boat Strike Victim'
Henley Spiers (UK)

Third: 'Esperanza'
Giacomo Rossi (Mexico)

Highly Commended: 'Hanging by a thread'
Joost van Uffelen (Netherlands)

Highly Commended: 'Awaiting Spawning'
Dan Mele ( Virgin Islands, U.S.)

Highly Commended: 'Fragment Field'
Joe Daniels (France)

Highly Commended: 'Conch Graveyard'
Dan Mele ( Virgin Islands, U.S.)

Commended: 'Entangled Sea Lion'
Henley Spiers (UK)

Commended: 'Plastic Everywhere'
Xavier Mas Ferrà (Spain)

Commended: 'Drowning in Plastic'
Kimber Greenwood (USA)