{"id":593598,"date":"2026-07-19T14:23:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T14:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/593598\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T14:23:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T14:23:20","slug":"meet-the-incredible-14-year-old-underwater-photographer-who-won-hasselblad-masters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/593598\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Incredible 14-Year-Old Underwater Photographer Who Won Hasselblad Masters"},"content":{"rendered":"

14-year-old award-winning underwater photographer Panitbhand Paribatra \u201cPari\u201d Na Ayudhya<\/a> of Thailand, made waves late last month after he won the Project \/\/ 21 category in the prestigious Hasselblad Masters 2026 photo contest<\/a>. It was not Pari\u2019s first big awards win, and undoubtedly won\u2019t be his last.<\/p>\n

PetaPixel spoke with Pari to learn more about his photographic journey, how he got started with underwater photography, what it felt like to win Hasselblad Masters, and what\u2019s next. <\/p>\n

Winning Hasselblad Masters 2026 <\/p>\n

\u201cI was really glad I made it to the finalists,\u201d Paribatra tells PetaPixel . \u201cI didn\u2019t expect to win because there were really good other photographers I was competing with. I just thought, \u2018It was really good that I made it to the finalists.\u2019 I just didn\u2019t expect to make it to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Hasselblad Masters 2026 Winning Photo | Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya<\/p>\n

This is arguably Paribatra\u2019s biggest victory yet, besting exceptionally challenging competition in Hasselblad Master\u2019s Project \/\/ 21 category, which was open to all photographers 21 years old and younger. However, Pari has won other major competitions<\/a>, including being named Photographer of the Year Under-18 by the Shark Trust, receiving a Commendation at the Siena Awards last year, and more. <\/p>\n

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I didn\u2019t expect to win because there were really good other photographers I was competing with.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI was really excited because the prize is really good,\u201d Pari laughed when recalling finding out he had won Hasselblad Masters. In addition to earning the title, \u201cHasselblad Master,\u201d Pari also won a 5,000 euro creative fund and his choice of a Hasselblad 100-megapixel camera and two XCD Series lenses. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am very honored to win this prestigious award,\u201d Pari adds. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Hasselblad Masters 2026 Winning Photo | Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya<\/p>\n

The 14-year-old photographer showed strategy beyond his years to win, explaining that he looked at all the winners of prior editions of the contest to see what types of images tended to perform the best. <\/p>\n

\u201cI looked at all the categories, and I saw there\u2019s this pattern in which all the photos have to be unique, but they also have to go along with each other,\u201d Pari observed. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Hasselblad Masters 2026 Winning Photo | Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya<\/p>\n

In Hasselblad Masters, photographers enter a series of three photos. <\/p>\n

For the three underwater shots Pari settled on, he said they needed to be really good on their own, but also aesthetically fit together. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey all look similar but they\u2019re all different in a way,\u201d the ambitious young photographer says. <\/p>\n

\"APhotographer Panitbhand Paribatra \u201cPari\u201d Na Ayudhya<\/p>\n

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I looked at all the categories, and I saw there\u2019s this pattern\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Capturing the Striking, Award-Winning Underwater Photos <\/p>\n

Pari captured all three of his award-winning shots during a blackwater dive in the Philippines. As Pari explains, there aren\u2019t too many places in the world where you can blackwater dive. It\u2019s an open-ocean nighttime dive, where divers essentially float in a water column over deep abyssal depths. A powerful light attracts plankton to the waters, which then encourages deep-water creatures feeding at night to swim over. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were in the middle of the ocean, waiting for creatures to come up at night,\u201d Pari says. \u201cDuring the first dive, I took normal shots with a typical flash, so the photos are all clear and everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, because I saw this thing that people did with slow shutter speeds during blackwater dives, I wanted to try it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI tried it with normal flash, and it was kind of wonky. It wasn\u2019t organized, everything was all over the place. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I improvised with a video light and filters, and I put the filter on during the slow shutter, and then ended my photo with flash to keep the details.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Paribatra during his blackwater dive<\/p>\n

This brilliant bit of improvisation in the water, all at nighttime on the open ocean no less, reflects Pari\u2019s creativity and technical skills. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t that bad,\u201d Pari says of the blackwater dive. \u201cThere were a lot of people there. And it was like 100 meters deep down there, and I didn\u2019t know what could come up, so I was excited.\u201d <\/p>\n

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It was like 100 meters deep down there, and I didn\u2019t know what could come up, so I was excited.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Diving and Photographic Expertise Comes Together <\/p>\n

Underwater photography is an especially challenging photographic discipline, requiring not only serious photography chops, but extensive diving expertise, which can take many years to acquire. <\/p>\n

For Paribatra, he might as well have been in the ocean. He started scuba diving as soon as he was legally allowed to, at age 10, and very quickly earned his certificate. He then added a diving rescue certification shortly thereafter. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just practiced and practiced and practiced,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Like so many other accomplished photographers, Paribatra first picked up a camera to document what he saw on his adventures. <\/p>\n

\u201cI always had an action camera,\u201d Pari says of his earliest dives. \u201cI just thought I would record what happened out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

When his first photos were \u201creally bad,\u201d he grew determined to improve his photography skills. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had to improve,\u201d Paribatra laughs. \u201cThen it went on, and I started really liking it.\u201d <\/p>\n

He quickly moved up, both in terms of his skills and his gear. <\/p>\n

\"Colorful<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Close-up<\/a><\/p>\n

A Nikon Z8 and a 105mm Macro Lens <\/p>\n

He now shoots with a Nikon Z8, often with a Nikkor Z MC 105mm f\/2.8 VR S macro lens. He uses a pair of Kraken strobes mounted to either side of his lens and also swims with a video light. <\/p>\n

When asked why a 105mm lens, rather than the more typical wide-angle lenses that underwater photographers use, Paribatra says he needs to get really close-up shots of tiny subjects, and if he needs more space, he can always swim farther away. <\/p>\n

Paribatra\u2019s favorite of his three Hasselblad Masters photos, the one of the octopus, may look like it\u2019s a big creature. It isn\u2019t. Pari says it was just about the size of a ping-pong ball. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Paribatra\u2019s love for macro can also be partially explained by one of the first photos that really excited him, but not for the reasons you might expect. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a sea slug,\u201d Pari recalls of the moment he truly fell in love with photography. \u201cI saw it on documentaries, and I was like, \u2018Wow, this thing actually exists, and you can actually see it.\u2019 So I was like, \u2018I have to take a photo of this. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I took it, and it came out very blurry. It was very bad. So the next time I went out, I had to make it better.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The Biggest Challenges of Underwater Photography <\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s easy to believe, listening to Paribatra explain his photography, that everything comes easy, he\u2019s adamant that\u2019s not true. He has had to work extremely hard to hone his photographic skills, and he still faces challenges on every dive. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard because you can\u2019t control a lot of things,\u201d the diving photographer explains. \u201cYou can control the light, but you can\u2019t control the water. If the water isn\u2019t cooperating, it\u2019s really hard to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

And then the subject is almost always moving, adding another layer of complexity to the process. Although Paribatra is an excellent diver, underwater creatures have significant advantages in speed. <\/p>\n

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You can control the light, but you can\u2019t control the water. If the water isn\u2019t cooperating, it\u2019s really hard to do anything.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Then there\u2019s visibility. There are often things floating in the water that make it hard to see. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe subject is moving, we\u2019re moving, and sometimes the conditions aren\u2019t great. You\u2019re just not always going to get photos, and that\u2019s really disappointing.\u201d <\/p>\n

Pari, an Ocean Ambassador for the Manta Trust and a Young Shark Ambassador for Fins Attached Marine Research and Conservation, has huge respect for the ocean and all its inhabitants, so he\u2019s also extremely careful to never stress out his subjects. He has to wait for them to come to him, and that doesn\u2019t always happen. <\/p>\n

Paribatra says he quickly learned to always be ready in the water. As soon as he gets in the ocean, he double-checks all his settings and makes sure his test shots look good. <\/p>\n

\u201cI practice on the person next to me or a rock or something to make sure the settings are perfect first, because a shark isn\u2019t going to stick around long,\u201d Pari says. \u201cSo if it does, I\u2019m ready and just try to find the angle and click because I can\u2019t set anything up on my camera after the shark shows up.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A Love for the Ocean <\/p>\n

\u201cI have always liked the ocean, spending time in the ocean,\u201d Paribatra tells PetaPixel. \u201cLong before I started diving, I knew I had to do something to pay back what the ocean gave to me.\u201d <\/p>\n

Paribatra has given many presentations over the years and most recently hosted a photo exhibition Bangkok, \u201cPay Back to the Ocean<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOther people do stuff with data and science and awareness. But I just thought that photography \u2014 I enjoy photography \u2014 so I want to use that and do something good for the ocean.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Although it may seem like Paribatra is destined for a life of professional underwater photography, the young photographer says that isn\u2019t his dream. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to improve, I want to get better,\u201d Paribatra says of photography. \u201cBut I also want to enjoy it in a way that it might not be the number one job in my life. Because when it becomes a commitment, and something I have to do a lot, I won\u2019t enjoy it as much.<\/p>\n

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Long before I started diving, I knew I had to do something to pay back what the ocean gave to me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a number one hobby, but not everything in my life.\u201d <\/p>\n

Paribatra knows he wants to pursue a career related to the ocean,, though. Maybe something related to science. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m not sure yet.\u201d <\/p>\n

One thing is for sure, no matter what Pari Paribatra decides to do, he has the skill and drive to excel. <\/p>\n

To stay up to date with Paribatra\u2019s underwater photography adventures, readers can follow him on Instagram<\/a> and visit his website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Image creditsAll photos by Panitbhand Paribatra \u201cPari\u201d Na Ayudhya<\/p>\n