THE winners of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 awards have been revealed. Which one would you have chosen for the top prize?
They depict awe-inducing waves crashing to shore, deep sea curiosities and terrifying predators.
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But the overall winning photo this year shows a much smaller scale wonder.
French photographer Julien Anton spent hours scouring the sea in choppy conditions of the coast of Tahiti, with no guarantee of finding even a single seahorse.
The incredible photo he eventually captured – two young seahorses turning back in a dark sea, possibly in a farewell to their father in the foreground – got him named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026.
The hobbyist photographer said: “That is what made the moment so extraordinary – when the juveniles turned back towards the adult, it felt like something far beyond what I had dared to hope for.”
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Julien’s shot won the Ocean Wildlife category before being elevated to the overall prize, which he called an “immense honour”.
He thanked “the local residents, naturalists and fishermen of Tahiti and Mo’orea whose knowledge made this image possible”, saying: “My hope is that this image can serve as a bridge between science, conservation and a world that deserves to know what is at stake.”
Adventure Photographer of the Year went to Gergo Rugli, who captured a pod of dolphins diving through the waves alongside surfers in Sydney during a powerful swell.
British photographer Jenny Stock scooped up this year’s Female Fifty Fathoms Award.
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She seemed to have coaxed a sealion pup to pose for a picture in Jurian Bay, Western Australia.
And she captured an amazing picture of a decorated warbonnet poking out of a glass bottle, which they often sneak into for protection.
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An astonishing tableau of a whale shark surrounded by divers and snorkelers in the Maldives won James Ferrara Conservation (Impact) Photographer of the Year.
And a shot of a community coming together to re-float stranded short-finned pilot whales in Cape Verde brough home the Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean for Rui Duarte.
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Winning the Conservation (Hope) Photographer of the Year, Thomas Pavy snapped a hammerhead shark at 55 metres depth in Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa Atoll in French Polynesia.
And an amazing black-and-white photo showing a tawny nurse shark gliding through the warm waters of the Maldives won Matty Smith the Fine Art Photographer of the Year prize.
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Finalists in the Adventure Photographer of the Year who didn’t manage to snag the top prize included Daan Verhoeven, whose breathtaking photo showed a free diver descending into the depths of Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas during a successful world record attempt.
Ben Yávar’s picture of a freediver surrounded by a vast school of sardines, taken in the Philippines, was also a finalist in the category.