The prestigious Ocean Art competition has released the rankings for its 2019 edition, the eighth, which attracted top-tier international competitors and photographs from all oceans. All winning photos are available in the Underwater Photography Guide.
Greg Lecoeur's photo, depicting a seal maneuvering through the Antarctic ice, was chosen as best of show. But it's not the only chilling shot among those submitted by entrants from 78 countries.
The jury included prestigious names such as underwater photographers Tony Wu, Martin Edge, and Marty Snyderman. The prizes totaled $85000, including diving cruises, accommodations, and equipment.
The quality of the images, divided into 16 categories, is exceptional. Scott Gietler, owner of Bluewater Photo and Travel and publisher of Underwater Photography Guide , commented: “I am amazed at the magnificent images underwater photographers are producing today. The two new categories, Conservation and Blackwater , immediately stand out and have produced some exciting images, especially the Conservation winners, which I hope will influence new generations of conservationists.
The complete list of winners follows, with the top photos in each category.
Best of Show
- “Crab-Eater Seal” by Greg Lecoeur (opening photo)
Wide Angle
- 1st Place: Nicholas More
- 2nd Place: Tobias Friedrich
- 3rd Place: Adam Martin
- 4th Place Borut Furlan
- 5th Place: Taeyup Kim
- Honorable Mention: Alessandro Buzzichelli
- Honorable Mention: Jose Antonio Castellano
Macro
- 1st Place: Stefano Cerbai
- 2nd Place: Wu Yung-Sen
- 3rd Place: Dave Johnson
- 4th Place Petr Polách
- 5th Place: Hakan Basar
- Honorable Mention: Paolo Bondaschi
- Honorable Mention: Yatwai So
Marine Life Behavior
- 1st Place: Paula Vianna
- 2nd Place: Paolo Bausani
- 3rd Place: Steven Kovacs
- 4th Place: Hannes Klostermann
- 5th Place: Pedro Carrillo Montero
- Honorable Mention: Steven Kovacs
- Honorable Mention: Jason Cluen
Headshot
- 1st Place: Virginia Salzedo
- 2nd Place: Davide Lombroso
- 3rd Place: Claudio Zori
- 4th Place: Emry Oxford
- 5th Place: Mok Wai Hoe
- Honorable Mention: Greg Lecoeur
- Honorable Mention: Galice Hoarau
coldwater
- 1st Place: Greg Lecoeur
- 2nd Place: Tobias Friedrich
- 3rd Place: Johan Sundelin
- 4th Place: Johan Sundelin
- 5th Place: Aldo Costa
- Honorable Mention: Celia Kujala
Honorable Mention: Mirko Zanni
nudibranch
- 1st Place: Jenny Stock
- 2nd Place: Andrea Pescarolo
- 3rd Place: Andrey Savin
- 4th Place Mauro Apuleo
- 5th Place: Cedric Peneau
- Honorable Mention: Chun Ho Tam
Super macro
- 1st Place: Paolo Isgro
- 2nd Place: Leon Zhao
- 3rd Place: Paolo Isgro
- 4th Place: Qing Lin
Reefscapes
- 1st Place: Eduardo Acevedo Fernandez
- 2nd Place: Nicholas More
- 3rd Place: Enrico Somogyi
- 4th Place: Greg Lecoeur
- 5th Place: Yen-Yi Lee
- Honorable Mention: Nicholas More
Blackwater
- 1st Place: Fabien Michenet
- 2nd Place: Paolo Bausani
- 3rd Place: Steven Kovacs
- 4th Place: Lureen Ferretti
- 5th Place: Tianhong Wang
- Honorable Mention: Fabien Michelet
- Honorable Mention: Steven Kovacs
- Honorable Mention: Suzan Meldonian
Conservation
- 1st Place: Shane Gross
- 2nd Place: Alessandro Grasso
- 3rd Place: Brooke Lori Pyke
- 4th Place: Nicole Helgason
- 5th Place: Francis Perez
- Honorable Mention: Pasquale Vassallo
- Honorable Mention: Rafael Fernandez Caballero
Underwater Art
- 1st Place: Francisco Sedano
- 2nd Place: Enrico Somogyi
- 3rd Place: Jenny Stock
- 4th Place: Tae Wook Kang
- Honorable Mention: Kimber Greenwood
- Honorable Mention: Aîa Mar
Novice Wide Angle
- 1st Place: George Kuo-Wei Kao
- 2nd Place: George Kuo-Wei Kao
- 3rd Place: George Kuo-Wei Kao
- 4th Place: Jake Wilton
- 5th Place: Jeongin Kim
- Honorable Mention: Jeongin Kim
Novice Macro
- 1st Place: Julie Casey
- 2nd Place: Michael Loh
- 3rd Place: George Kuo-Wei Kao
- 4th Place: Mel Wu
- 5th Place: Kierstin Zetterberg
- Honorable Mention: Naomi Strong
Compact Wide Angle
- 1st Place: Talia Greis
- 2nd Place: Minsik Roh
- 3rd Place: Benhur Sarinda
- 4th Place: Enrico Somogyi
- 5th Place: Enrico Somogyi
Compact Macro
- 1st Place: Stan Chen
- 2nd Place: Stan Chen
- 3rd Place: Fabien Martinazzo
- 4th Place: Fabien Martinazzo
- Honorable Mention: Donghoon Lee
- Honorable Mention: Alessio Tinti
Compact Behavior
- 1st Place: Ferenc Lorincz
- 2nd Place: Fabien Martinazzo
- 3rd Place: Willy Irawan
- 4th Place: Simon Deblock
- Honorable Mention: Lawrence Wu
