Featured stunning photography winning UN World Oceans Day Photo Contest

What a wonderful world we live in.

The winners of the United Nations World Oceans Day 2021 Photo Contest have been announced, featuring stunning photographs showcasing the spectacular distribution of marine life across the planet, from the Faroe Islands to Costa Rica.

The competition was held in six nominations - "Ocean: Life and Livelihood", "Seascapes over Water", "Underwater Seascapes", "Digital Photographic Art with the Ocean", "Faces of the Sea" and "Ocean Discoveries".
 
Award-winning Belgian photographer Ellen Kuylaerts, the curator of the competition, said there were about 1,400 works from all over the world. She added: “The variety of judges made this year very interesting for the competition, with the jury including musician and photographer Julian Lennon and Swedish TV host Joakim Odelberg.”

“The photographs we have selected evoke a sense of the places where we want to be right now and which we want to protect. We, along with the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, which prepared the competition, hope these photographs will inspire us to rebalance our relationship with the oceans. It's time to make a big change. "

14 PHOTOS

1. Hannes Klostermann of Germany finished second in the Ocean Discovery category with this breathtaking photograph of a flock of tuna hunting a sardine ball in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. The photographer noted: "Due to the relatively large size of the prey, the tunas ended up tearing apart all the sardines they caught, each of which took a piece."

2. The winner in the Seascapes over Water category was Pavel Zygmunt from Poland, who is behind this epic photo of the Kallura cliffs on the island of Kalsoy in the Faroe Islands. Zygmunt used a drone to capture the scene and said the weather was "very difficult." At some point, when he was climbing the cliff, he was "hit by hail and pushed by a strong wind," but luckily the wind died down and it was safer for him to explore. The photographer added: “I was able to capture the island of Kalsoy from a slightly different perspective. In the background are the islands of Kunoy and Vidoy. "

3. Rafael Fernandez Caballero of Spain finished third in the Seascapes Above Water category with this incredible aerial photo of a blue whale. Recalling his encounter with the creature off the coast of Isla Serralvo in Mexico, he said: “While sailing on the high seas, it was amazing to see a whale from afar, the sea was flat and the conditions were perfect. When we realized that it was a blue whale, all the people on the boat were very excited. It was amazing to spend a long time with the huge animal, which was completely calm that day. "

4. This magical photo of a sea lion puppy in a cave was taken by British photographer Noor Tucker while diving off the coast of Baja California in Mexico. This photo earned him a gold medal in the Underwater Seascapes category.

5. Second place in the Seascapes Above Water category went to UK-based Christophe Mason-Parker for this fantastic aerial view of the Pass Dubois Canal, running between the remote islets of Ilot Emily and Ilot Yange in the Seychelles.

6. Victor Nunez of Spain received an Honorable Mention in the Ocean: Life and Livelihood category for this macro shot of Atlantic glaucus, a species of sea slug also known as the blue dragon. Nunez took a picture off the coast of Tenerife. He showed that the tiny mollusk gets its color by feeding on jellyfish.

7. Tom St. George from the USA won first place in the Ocean Discovery category. His winning image was filmed in the Sistema Sac Actun underwater cave system off the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. St. George says the water-filled chambers are "renowned for their incredible beauty and crystal clear waters," but they are facing "increasing pressure from pollution and excessive water extraction."

8. Jacopo Brunetti of Italy is behind this amazing photo of sardines being chased by striped marlin during their annual migration off the coast of Mexico. The photograph, titled Fear, was ranked second in the Ocean: Life and Livelihood category.

9. Incredible snapshot of a diver exploring the remains of the skeleton of the whale Bryde off the island of Ko Haa, which is located in the Mu Ko Lanta National Park in Thailand. It was made by Sirachay Arunrugstchai from Thailand, who took third place in the Ocean Discovery category. It was not possible to establish the cause of the whale's death due to the deterioration of the condition of the carcass.

10. British photographer Henley Spears captured this striking photo of a man hunting yellowfin tuna off the coast of Costa Rica. He said the pictured David “lives in harmony with his local waters” and only takes what he needs to survive.

11. Rene Capozzola from the USA was named winner in the Ocean: Life and Livelihood category for this stunning photo of two local fishermen rowing in a traditional canoe along a shallow coral reef off Adonara Island in Indonesia. Capozzola said they practice hand fishing, which is "a kind of sustainable fishing without rods or nets."

12. En la categoría “Paisajes marinos submarinos”, Kevin De Vries de Bélgica quedó en tercer lugar con esta foto, que tomó en el estrecho de Dampier en la provincia indonesia de Papúa Occidental. Dijo: "Esta foto destaca la belleza y la importancia de los arrecifes de coral como los bosques submarinos de nuestro planeta".

13. Italy's Marchione Giacome is behind this stunning photo off the coast of Cebu in the Philippines. He finished second in the Underwater Seascapes category. The photographer said: “The reefs around Cebu are inhabited by thousands of sardines, which form huge shoals large enough to form masses of fish that obscure the sun, like clouds moving during a thunderstorm. The scene is very impressive; the observer is speechless in the face of this amazing spectacle, staged by mother nature. "

14. Sayaka Ichinoseki of Japan won the Faces of the Sea category in this stunning photo taken in Hokkaido, Japan. She said, “They were very tiny and immature, so I can't say for sure, but most likely they were yellow goose fish. These babies, only 2mm in size, were in a two-square-meter egg blanket just before hatching. They spun as the entire egg curtain shook from the tidal current. "