Off the deep waters of Kumejima, Japan, Steven Kovacs captured a picture that may be awarded Greatest in Present for the 2025 Ocean Artwork Images Contest. Touring to the Okinawa prefecture within the hopes of encountering a scarcely documented species of larval goosefish, Kovacs spent almost two weeks blackwater diving earlier than photographing the uncommon second.
“Sadly, this stunning little fish turned out to be extremely uncooperative and tough to {photograph},” Kovacs says. “After spending a while with it, I used to be very lucky that, for one transient second, it determined to yawn whereas dealing with the digicam.” The ensuing picture is aptly titled “Drained fish.”
This previous 12 months, the annual contest noticed hundreds of entries spanning greater than 90 nations. From silky sharks in Cuba to small pipefish in Indonesia, every {photograph} highlights distinctive, fleeting underwater moments that always go unseen. Awardees took residence greater than $60,000 in prizes, together with once-in-a-lifetime experiences reminiscent of diving excursions, cruises, and liveaboard journeys.
Take a plunge into the on-line gallery of profitable pictures, highlighting 14 distinctive classes. Discover extra data and be careful for subsequent 12 months’s open name on the competition’s web site.
