The Ocean Art Contest has announced the winners of its 2022 contest. There are over 70 images among the placings, with many from members of the Wetpixel community. Congratulations to Kat Zhou, whose image of the Caribbean octopus (Octopus briareus) that was at Blue Heron Bridge last year, was awarded Best of Show.

Press release

Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Contest Winners Announced The prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, organized by the Underwater Photography Guide , has announced the results of the world’s largest underwater photo contest.

It is clear from this year’s winning images that our community of underwater photographers has dived into a new and exciting post-pandemic era. An unprecedented caliber of photo s was ushered in by the lifting of travel restrictions-including our best in show image featuring another teachable moment from an octopus.

The photo, captured in Palm Beach, Florida by Kat Zhou, depicts the bittersweet final days between a mother octopus and her young before dying of old age.

This year’s competition debuted a new Mobile Phone category , with inspiring images captured by a tool that almost every ocean lover has in their pocket . We hope this category will inspire new underwater photographers and explorers to tell their own stories.

Other extraordinary winners included extra-terrestrial blackwater scenes of the crazy domain of pelagic critters, images that br ought hope and solutions for ocean conservation, exhibitions of imaginative photographic technique, and inspiring animal portraits . 14 different categories ensure a competitive contest for all levels and disciplines of underwater photography.

The judges evaluated thousands of entries from 96 countries before selecting the final set of images as Ocean Art winners. Ocean Art 2022 judges included prestigious underwater photographers Tony Wu, Mark Strickland , and Marty Snyderman.

Editor-in-Chief of the Underwater Photography Guide and a partner in Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel Nirupam commented, “The winners of Ocean Art 2022 surprised me. I expected an “instagramable” moment to steal the show. Instead, each image is that of photographic excellence or poetic reflection of the natural world around us. These images will be seared in my mind of years to come.”

Complete list of winners:

Wide Angle

Macro

1st Place Kat Zhou

Marine Life Behavior

Portrait

Coldwater

Nudibranch

Blackwater

Underwater Conservation

Underwater Art

Black & White

Compact Wide Angle

Compact Macro

Compact Behavior

Mobile Phone