The Underwater Photography Awards (UPA) rewards excellence and potential in photography beneath the surface of the ocean, lakes, and rivers.
Over 5,000 photographs of photographers from 70 countries in the world were submitted in 13 categories for this awards. The judges were Alex Mustard, a former marine biologist and one of the leading underwater photographers of the world; Peter Rowlands, the Chair of the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2020; and Martin Edge, one of the most influential teachers of underwater photography in the world.
The inaugural edition of the Underwater Photography Awards was held in 2014-15 and since then, it has gained tremendous fame across the world.
The awards are given away in various categories that include Underwater Photographer of the Year, Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year, Underwater Photography Book Of The Year, and Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year.
Here are a few pictures that have won the awards in various categories.
Greg Lecoeur was awarded the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2020 with Frozen Mobile Home, showing seals around an iceberg in Antarctica.
Anita Kainrath, from Austria, won Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year with Shark Nursery, showing baby lemon sharks in a mangrove in the Bahamas.
Italian Pasquale Vassallo won Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year with Last Dawn, Last Gasp, showing a tuna as it is hauled up towards a boat off the coast of Naples.
Nick More, from Devon, won British Underwater Photographer of the Year with Rabbitfish Zoom Blur, taken in Indonesia.
To view all the other pictures that have won awards, click here.
Aren’t these pictures breathtaking? Do let us know your views about them in the comments section below.
