{"id":681156,"date":"2026-09-10T00:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T00:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/681156\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T00:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T00:31:12","slug":"ocean-photographer-of-the-year-2026-winners-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/681156\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 winners announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds<\/strong> category, introduced for the first time this year, was won by Mitsuna Kawai<\/strong>, whose image of a ribbonfish in blackwater off the coast of Japan epitomises the category\u2019s ambition: to turn the lens to the ocean\u2019s smallest and least-seen inhabitants.<\/p>\n

From the microscopic to the overlooked, the category reveals a dimension of the ocean rarely glimpsed, but no less vital for it. The Human Connection<\/strong> and Adventure<\/strong> categories explore our species\u2019 enduring relationship with the sea. The Human Connection<\/strong> category was won by Rui Duarte<\/strong>, whose image of volunteers trying to push a stranded pilot whale back to sea captures something essential about our bond with the ocean, and what we stand to lose. The Adventure<\/strong> category was won by Gergo Rugli<\/strong>, for an image of dolphins cresting a wave alongside surfers at Tamarama Beach in Sydney, Australia \u2013 a joyful collision of two worlds that share the same water.<\/p>\n

In the Conservation Impact<\/strong> category, James Ferrara\u2019s<\/strong> image of a whale shark surrounded by a swarm of snorkelers and divers confronts the damage the ocean continues to face \u2013 in this case, the destructiveness and intrusiveness of over-tourism. Stories of overfishing and bycatch, plastic pollution taking its toll on marine mammals, and the killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands run through the category\u2019s finalist work. These images are counterbalanced by the Conservation Hope<\/strong> category, won by Thomas Pavy<\/strong>, whose image of scientific divers using laser-calibrated video photogrammetry during a population survey showcases the ingenuity being adopted by conservationists to better protect the ocean and the species that inhabit it.<\/p>\n

The Ocean Fine Art<\/strong> category was won by Matty Smith<\/strong>, whose black-and-white portrait of a nurse shark, flanked by remoras in perfect formation, is a study in form and stillness, and a breathtaking reminder of the magic and wonder of our ocean planet. All winner information, including images and captions, can be found at oceanographicmagazine.com\/winners-gallery.<\/p>\n

Ocean Photographer of the Year founder and director, Will Harrison, said: \u201cWhen Julien Anton\u2019s image first appeared on screen, the judging panel fell silent. It is an image that demands reflection, pause for thought, and it certainly got that from us. The image is full of quiet energy, even if some of that comes from us humans imprinting our own emotions on the photograph: the bow of the father\u2019s head, the juveniles turning back towards him, the generational gap and the unknown futures of the newborns. What kind of ocean are we leaving for those who come after us? It is ocean photography at its most powerful: intimate, urgent and impossible to ignore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ocean Photographer of the Year, presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain, has a simple mission: to shine a light on the wonder and fragility of our blue planet, and to celebrate the photographers giving it a voice. The competition is a cornerstone of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment, which unites all the brand\u2019s efforts to protect the ocean.<\/p>\n

The program is composed of three interconnected pillars: Raising awareness of the ocean\u2019s beauty, supporting scientific research on ecosystems and underwater phenomena, taking concrete conservation actions, such as helping to create marine protected areas around the world.<\/p>\n

Click here for more from the Oceanographic Newsroom.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds category, introduced for the first time this year, was won by Mitsuna Kawai,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,18,117,19,17],"class_list":["post-681156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117243929250998000","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}