The 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Underwater Winners

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY) competition, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London, continues to showcase stunning imagery from around the globe, drawing attention to the beauty and fragility of the natural world. This year, was the 60th anniversary of the competition. In this article we will highlight underwater images from across the categories that tell compelling stories about the wildlife and ecosystems they depict.

This year is especially exciting in that the Grand Title Award, the title given to the overall winner of the entire competition is an underwater image shot by Canadian marine conservation photojournalist Shane Gross who we have highlighted before in this newsletter. Shane won for his breathtaking image, The Swarm of Life, which depicts the migration of western toad tadpoles in Cedar Lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Taken while snorkeling for several hours, Shane's photo captures hundreds of just-hatched tadpoles navigating through a carpet of lily pads.

The jury was captivated by the dynamic composition and the light interplay within the image, which evokes the beauty and energy of this underwater migration. As competition judge Tony Wu noted, "The photographer immerses us in an epic migration of tiny tadpoles, a scene that most of us would have never imagined existed." This award-winning shot also marks the first time the western toad has been featured in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year archive.

Shane's work emphasizes the importance of preserving wetlands and highlights the ecological significance of such environments, which are increasingly threatened by habitat destruction. His image serves as a reminder that even in the most mundane settings, extraordinary moments of life and connection abound.

Matty Smith’s winning image, captured beneath the Antarctic ice, brings viewers face-to-face with a curious leopard seal. To create this dramatic split shot, Smith designed a custom dome port for his underwater camera housing, allowing for a perfectly balanced view above and below the waterline.

The shot was taken late in the day in the dim light of the Antarctic Peninsula’s Paradise Harbour. Smith had to act quickly as daylight faded. He slipped into the icy water, where he encountered the leopard seal for the first time. The young seal circled Smith with curiosity, making several close passes. It wasn’t until the seal looked directly into the camera that Smith knew he had captured something extraordinary.

For Photonaturalist and Competition Judge Tony Wu, “the grey, somber mood sets an otherworldly tone, accentuating the divide between terrestrial and aquatic. A single leopard seal staring straight into the camera seems almost like a sentinel, admonishing humanity for the shrinking sea ice on which it depends.”

While leopard seals are widespread, climate change and human activity are rapidly affecting their primary food sources, including krill and penguins. Overfishing, retreating sea ice, and warming waters threaten these critical prey populations.

Sage Ono's journey to winning the Rising Star Portfolio Award began with inspiration from his grandfather, a retired marine biologist, and a photograph of a larval cusk eel. His award-winning portfolio, The Serengeti of the Sea, showcases the stunning underwater world of Monterey Bay’s kelp forests, where he has spent time exploring and photographing since moving there in 2021.

Drawn to the richness of these underwater forests, Sage’s images capture the diversity of life within the giant kelp, the largest of all seaweeds. Roz Kidman Cox, Editor and Competition Judge, described his work as making you "marvel at and desire to dive into the ocean swell and experience the sensual delights of such a rich forest world."

Sage, who volunteers as a survey diver monitoring kelp forests, uses his photography to explore humanity’s relationship with nature and inspire conservation efforts. His work in The Serengeti of the Sea is both a celebration of marine life and a call to action to protect the fragile ecosystems that sustain it.

We had a chance to catch up with Sage to ask him about his work. Check out the interview here.

Thomas Peschak won the Photojournalist Story Award for his compelling portfolio, Dolphins of the Forest. His series explores the complex relationship between Amazon river dolphins and the local communities in the Amazon. Revered in traditional beliefs as shapeshifters, these pink dolphins are both feared and respected, but some see them as nuisances, leading to conflict.

Peschak’s images were taken in areas where tourists are encouraged to interact with the dolphins, but this introduces a new set of problems. Human-fed dolphins become unhealthy, and younger individuals fail to learn essential hunting skills. Chien Lee, a biologist and judge, remarked on the difficulty of photographing these dolphins in their murky, flooded forest habitat. Yet Peschak masterfully captures both their underwater behavior and their deep connection to the people of the region.

A National Geographic Photographer and Explorer, Peschak transitioned from marine biology to photojournalism to amplify his impact on conservation. He has worked on 15 feature stories for National Geographic and authored eight books, including Wild Seas. As the Director of Storytelling for the Save our Seas Foundation, Peschak uses visual storytelling to address critical marine conservation issues. His TED Talk, Dive into an Ocean Photographer’s World, has been viewed over one million times.

To see the full portfolio and to get information on each image, visit the Natural History Museum’s website.

Oriol Chias Diez from Barcelona, Spain, captured this shot of a common cuttlefish raising its tentacles while blending into the seagrass. Oriol's lifelong love for water began at just three months old, and over the years he’s embraced activities like surfing, diving, and more recently, underwater photography.

While observing the cuttlefish for over an hour, Oriol was captivated by its remarkable ability to change both color and shape, even mimicking the movement of seagrass. The cuttlefish achieves this impressive camouflage using millions of chromatophores, specialized cells that can rapidly shift color and create intricate patterns. Alongside chromatophores, cuttlefish also have leucophores, which reflect surrounding light, further enhancing their ability to blend seamlessly into their environment.

This clever adaptation allowed Oriol to capture a moment of true mastery in marine disguise, earning him the Runner-Up title in the 11-14 Years category.

Daniel Browne’s striking image, Picking Through the Bones which received a Highly Commended in the Oceans - The Bigger Picture category, captures a rare and awe-inspiring scene: a tiger shark scavenging a whale carcass. By the time Daniel arrived on scene to photograph this event more than 100 sharks were scavenging on the remains of the whale carcass at Ningaloo Reef, Australia. This behavior, seldom witnessed, highlights the critical role sharks play in maintaining the health of ecosystems like Ningaloo Reef. Stretching over 300 kilometers (186 miles) and home to an astonishing variety of marine life, Ningaloo is a World Heritage-listed site. The image serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of sharks in preserving the balance of these vital underwater environments.

Daniel, an underwater photographer based out of Ningaloo Reef, has spent years documenting the region’s marine biodiversity. Born in Fremantle, Australia, Daniel's passion for the ocean led him to work as a tour guide with Coral Bay Eco Tours, allowing him to capture stunning images like this one, building a remarkable portfolio of underwater photography.

Anton Sorokin braved the cold waters of a North Carolina stream to capture an intense encounter between two hellbenders, large salamanders known for their solitary and territorial nature. After days of snorkeling, Anton witnessed a fierce wrestling match as an intruding hellbender challenged a resident for control of its den. The back-and-forth struggle lasted hours, with the resident ultimately latching onto the intruder's body for over two hours before the fight ended. For his effort, Sorokin earned a Highly Commended in the Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles category.

Hellbenders, which can reach up to 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in length, are elusive creatures, spending most of their time alone under riverbed rocks. During breeding season, male hellbenders become aggressive in defending dens where females lay their eggs, and conflicts like the one Anton captured are a key part of their behavior. These salamanders rely on clean, undisturbed stream environments to thrive, but such habitats are increasingly threatened by pollution and habitat disruption.

As Clear as Crystal received a Highly Commended award in the Underwater category. Jason Gulley captured a serene moment through the clear waters of Crystal River, Florida, where a manatee calf drifts among eelgrass, trailing bubbles from its flippers. The tender expression on the calf’s face, combined with the hopeful story behind the shot, has made it one of Jason’s favorite images.

When Jason first dove here in 2019, he encountered murky waters, few manatees, and no eelgrass due to the effects of farming runoff. Chemicals had washed into the river, spurring algal blooms that wiped out the eelgrass beds the manatees rely on for food. However, thanks to the restoration efforts of the local community, the habitat was revived, and water quality improved significantly. By the winter of 2022–23, more manatees than ever before had been recorded in Crystal River, basking in the constant 23°C (73°F) temperatures.

Jason’s photo highlights not just the beauty of these gentle creatures but also the importance of protecting their environment. From avoiding harmful pesticides that contribute to algal blooms to reducing plastic pollution and preventing boat collisions, there are many ways people can help safeguard the future of manatees.

Nicolas Remy captured the rare moment when a crested hornshark was caught in the act of snatching a Port Jackson shark egg for a meal. Nicolas, who regularly dives to document Port Jackson sharks, spotted the young hornshark at a distance. As he approached, he noticed the shark holding the egg’s distinctive corkscrew shape in its mouth.

Nicolas wanted his photograph to highlight both the egg and the predator, so he used a wide-angle lens and two low-power flashes to capture the scene. The crested hornshark squeezed the nutrient-rich yolk out of the egg's protective casing, a behavior that makes these sharks formidable egg thieves.

Port Jackson shark eggs are uniquely shaped to wedge securely into tight spaces, offering protection while they develop. However, despite this evolutionary advantage, up to 90% of these eggs are stolen by predators like crested hornsharks before they can hatch.

David Herasimtschuk’s image of a huddling mass of lampreys migrating upriver received a Highly Commended in the Underwater category and was many years in the making. His patience paid off when he captured this rarely seen moment as the lampreys paused among boulders before their final push up the 12-meter (39-foot) Willamette Falls in Oregon.

This photo is the result of a collaboration with conservationists, including Native American biologists, dedicated to restoring lamprey populations to the rivers where their numbers have dramatically declined. The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission works alongside four Native American groups to protect and restore Columbia River basin lampreys, along with other vital species like salmon and sturgeon.

Lampreys are fascinating survivors from a lineage that dates back over 400 million years, and their appearance has changed very little since. They begin life as filter-feeding larvae, buried in the riverbed for up to six years. After maturing, they migrate to the ocean where they become parasitic, feeding on the blood of living fish. Once sexually mature, they return to freshwater rivers, fighting strong currents to reach their spawning grounds, where they die after laying their eggs.

Filippo Carugati’s keen observation of a broadnosed pipefish mimicking the swaying seagrass captures the essence of this master of disguise. Filippo earned a Highly Commended award in the Underwater category for his photo. While planning to photograph the pipefish during a decompression stop, Filippo found himself limited by the dwindling air in his tank, giving him only a few precious moments to document this fascinating creature.

The broadnosed pipefish not only mimics the form and color of the surrounding seagrass but also replicates the way it sways gently in the currents. This incredible adaptation helps the pipefish avoid predators while allowing it to ambush unsuspecting prey.

Filippo's image was taken in the Marine Protected Area of Isola di Ustica, which spans 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres). The seagrass meadows in this region provide crucial habitat for numerous fish species, showcasing the importance of protecting such environments for marine life.

Álvaro Herrero López aka Mekan’s poignant image, which received a Highly Commended in the Photojournalism category, reveals the tragic consequences of a humpback whale entangled in discarded fishing gear. The rope had bitten so deeply into the whale's tail that it rendered the animal unable to dive, navigate, or feed properly.

Álvaro encountered this starving whale off the coast of Baja California and took immediate action to free it from the ropes. Despite his efforts, the whale struggled to reach the surface to breathe, its tail rendered “completely useless.” Tragically, its life could not be saved.

Each year, it is estimated that at least 300,000 whales and dolphins lose their lives due to ghost nets, ropes, and buoys, highlighting the urgent need for action to address marine debris and entanglement issues.

The Global Whale Entanglement Response Network is working to prevent whale entanglements by training individuals in proper response techniques and how to assist entangled whales safely.

Summary

This year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition showcases a diverse range of images, highlighting important environmental issues facing our planet. While some images have sparked critical discussions within the photography community, each one still tells a compelling story, encouraging us to reflect on the beauty of the natural world and the need for conservation efforts.

For more breathtaking imagery from this year’s winners, visit the Natural History Museum's gallery and immerse yourself in the incredible wonders (both topside and underwater) captured by these talented photographers.