Swim through 27 winning images from the underwater photography contest

Rafael Fernández Caballero was named the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 on Thursday in a competition presented by Oceanographic magazine And Blancpain. His winning photo was taken in the waters off Baja California Sur, Mexico and chosen from more than 15,000 entries. It shows a rare Bryde’s whale about to eat a heart-shaped baitball, which is simply a tightly packed school of fish swimming close together for protection. Spoiler: They weren’t protected.

“The image captures perhaps the most special — and craziest — moment of my life,” Caballero said in a statement. “It fills me with joy to have experienced this moment — and to have captured the image.”

The Female Fifty Fathoms Award, which celebrates pioneering and inspiring women in ocean photography, was awarded to Malaysian photographer Ipah Uid Lynn. She was nominated by her peers and selected by a panel of judges.

Underwater photography is certainly a specialist field, but it can also inspire photographers on land as we refine our techniques and upgrade our equipment, even if we only use a smartphone camera.

The first exhibition of the top-rated images opens at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney on November 28, followed by several other locations in early 2025. Here’s a look at just a small sample of the images. full winners gallery is online.