{"id":24333,"date":"2023-02-16T14:15:12","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T13:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=137312"},"modified":"2023-02-16T14:35:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T13:35:23","slug":"the-most-weird-and-wonderful-animals-in-this-years-underwater-photographer-of-the-year-contest","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/the-most-weird-and-wonderful-animals-in-this-years-underwater-photographer-of-the-year-contest\/","title":{"rendered":"The most weird and wonderful animals in this year\u2019s Underwater Photographer of the Year contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Take a look through our favourite images from this year’s competition. <\/p>

By James Cutmore\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 16 February 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Kat Zhou\u2019s image of an endangered pink river dolphin popping its head above the water has won this year\u2019s\u00a0Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Head judge Dr Alex Mustard MBE<\/a>\u00a0said of the image; \u201cIn dark, tannic waters, Kat has created a striking composition capturing this rarely photographed and endangered species in a precision composition. This is by far the best image we\u2019ve ever seen of this species, whose numbers are declining at an alarming rate and whose IUCN\u2019s Red List status was worryingly uprated to Endangered in 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ollie Clarke was named British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023 for his image \u2018The Swarm\u2019, showing a whale shark, the biggest fish in the world<\/a>, hidden within a tightly-packed bait ball of smaller fish.<\/p>\n

Spanish photographer Alvaro Herrero was named \u2018Save Our Seas Foundation\u2019 Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2023, with his photo \u2018Hopeless\u2019. Herrero\u2019s photograph shows a humpback whale dying of starvation, unable to swim properly after its tail broke from being entangled in discarded\u00a0ropes. \u201cTaking this photograph was the saddest moment I\u2019ve experienced in the ocean,\u201d said Herrero.<\/p>\n

Underwater Photographer of the Year is an annual competition that celebrates photography beneath the surface of the ocean, and has been running since 1965. Today\u2019s competition attracts entries from all around the world, with 13 categories that test photographers with themes such as macro, wide angle, behaviour and wreck photography, as well as four categories for photos taken specifically in British waters.<\/p>\n

We bring you our favourites from this year\u2019s competition.<\/p>\n

Underwater Photographer of the Year \u2013 Boto encantado<\/h2>\n
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An amazon pink river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis<\/em>) pokes its nose above the waters of the Amazon river, Brazil. In local legend,\u00a0river dolphins (colloquially known as \u2018botos\u2019) can transform into handsome men known as \u2018boto encantado\u2019. Photo by Kat Zhou\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

British Underwater Photographer of the Year \u2013 The Swarm<\/h2>\n
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A huge whale shark (Rhincodon typus<\/em>) feeds off an incredibly dense bait ball of small fish. Photographed at Ningaloo Reef, Australia. Photo by Ollie Clarke\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

British waters living together category \u2013 Pipe reef<\/h2>\n
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A large Langoustine (Nephrops norvegicus<\/em>) makes its way past an artificial reef made of old pipes and concrete, Loch Fyne, Scotland, United Kingdom. Photo by Dan Bolt\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Portrait category winner \u2013 The trunk<\/h2>\n
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A super close-up image of an elephant trunk, photographed in Phuket, Thailand. Photo by Suliman Alatiqi\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Behaviour category winner \u2013 Make love not war<\/h2>\n
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A couple of coconut octopuses (Amphioctopus marginatus<\/em>) mating at a dive site near Tulamben village, Bali, Indonesia. Photo by Yury Ivanov\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Macro category winner \u2013 Unsung<\/h2>\n
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Male plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus)<\/i> protecting nests. Photographed at Vancouver Island, Canada. Photo by Shane Gross\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Wrecks category winner \u2013 Engine with a saddle<\/h2>\n
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The wreck of a single-engine Second World War aeroplane, identified as F8F-1 Bearcat. This is a rare aircraft that astronaut Neil Armstrong famously described as \u201can engine with a saddle\u201d. Photographed at Point Loma, California, USA. Photo by Brett Eldridge\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Wide angle category winner \u2013 Fade<\/h2>\n
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A group of southern stingrays (Hypanus americanus<\/em>) swim along the shallow sands of Stingray City, Cayman Islands, lit by the early morning sunrise. Photo by J Gregory Sherman\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Macro category 3rd \u2013 Relentless gaze<\/h2>\n
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A close-up image of the eye of a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum<\/em>), photographed during a night dive off the coast of Bimini, Bahamas. Photo by Kat Zhou\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Behaviour category runner-up \u2013 Double whale time<\/h2>\n
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Two bryde whales (Balaenoptera brydei<\/em>) feed on a ball of sardines, while a blue marlin (Makaira nigricans<\/em>) decides to leave the scene. Photographed at Baja California Sur, Mexico. Photo by Wojciech Dopierala\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

British waters wide angle category winner \u2013 An island\u2019s wild seas<\/h2>\n
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Sunlight beats down through a marine jungle of Himanthalia algae, on the chalk reefs of the Needles Marine Conservation Zone, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. Photo by Theo Vickers\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Wide angle category 3rd \u2013 Sky full of rays<\/h2>\n
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Modula rays photographed in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. Photo by Rafael Fernandez Caballero\/UPY 2023<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

More images from BBC Science Focus<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n