Underwater Photo Competition Sees Swimming Monkeys and Alien Octopus

Dec 22, 2023

DPG masters

The winners of the 2023 edition of the DPG Masters Underwater Imaging Competition have been announced with a picture of a juvenile blackfish hitching a ride on a jellyfish under the gaze of Mount Vesuvius taking home first place.

Marco Gargiulo won $1,000 for his photo entitled The Passenger which impressed the judges for its “juxtaposition of a blackwater subject against wide-angle topside with sunlight.”

“I initially thought this must be a composite, so to learn this photograph was one image clinched the decision in my view,” says one of the judges Renee Capozzola.

Best of Show and first place in the Over-Under Category. A juvenile imperial blackfish hitches a ride on a jellyfish beneath Mount Vesuvius, Naples, Italy. | Marco Gargiulo

First place in the Blackwater Category. Shot in the Philippines. | Magnus Lundgren

Third place in the Wide Angle Category. Three bottlenose dolphins in perfect unison. | Annie Guttridge

Second place in the Macro Category. A seahorse gives birth in Indonesia. | Tokk Aki

First place in the Macro Category. A frogfish catches its prey in Indonesia. | Bryon Conroy

Honorable mention in the Macro Category. A juvenile boxfish in Indonesia. | Bryon Conroy

First place in the Black and White Category. Shot in Tulum, Mexico. | Martin Broen

First place in the Wide Angle Category. A crab-eating macaque gazes from the water’s edge. | Suliman Alatiqi

Third place in the Blackwater Category. A spectacular alien-like octopus in the Philippines. Shot on a Nikon D850. | Magnus Lundgren

Third place in the Over-Under Category. An alligator in the Florida Everglades. | Mirko Zanni

Third place in the Macro Category. A juvenile turtle in Indonesia. | Claudio Zori

First place in the Conservation Category. The unwanted parts of sharks discarded by fishermen in Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico. | Yinan Liu

Second place in the Blackwater Category. A juvenile moray eel in the Philippines. | Liang Fu

Honorable mention in the Over-Under Category. A crab-eating macaque searches for food in Thailand. | Suliman Alatiqi

Second place in the Conservation Category. A controlled anchovy catch off the coasts of Italy. | Guido Villani

Second place in the Black and White Category. Shot in ice-cold water in Iceland. | Bryon Conroy

The competition focuses on underwater photography with several categories: Black and White, Blackwater, Conservation, Macro, Over-Under, Traditional, Wide Angle, and Short Film.

Full results can be found on the competition’s website.

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