Ocean Photography Awards 2021: winners' stunning deep-sea images unveiled

The photos are on show in London in a free-to-visit open air exhibition

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  Winner of Ocean Photographer of the Year, Aimee Jan: A green turtle, surrounded by glass fish in Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. 'I was out snorkelling when one of my colleagues told me there was a turtle under a ledge in a school of glass fish, about 10 metres down,' says Jan. 'When I dived down to look, the fish separated around the turtle perfectly. I said to her: ‘I think I just took the best photo I have ever taken’.'

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  Second place in Ocean Photographer of the Year, Henley Spiers: 'Diving amidst the barrage of gannets, I witness the violent synchronicity of these impressive seabirds as they embark on fishing dives,' says Spiers of this photo taken in the UK's Isle of Noss. 'They hit the water at 60 miles per hour (96kmh), an impact they can only withstand thanks to specially evolved air sacs in the head and chest. The bird’s agility transfers from air to sea where it also swims with incredible speed.'

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  Third place in Ocean Photographer of the Year, Matty Smith: 'A hawksbill turtle hatchling just 3.5cm long and a few minutes old takes its first swim,' says Smith of his photo taken in Lissenung Island, Papua New Guinea. 'It had emerged from an egg just minutes earlier with approximately 100 of its siblings. They quickly made their way into the ocean to disperse as rapidly as they could and avoid predation from birds and fish. I had to work quickly for this shot.'

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  Winner of Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year, Ben Thouard: Surfer Matahi Drollet catches a wave known as Teahupo’o in Tahiti, French Polynesia

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  Second place in Adventure Photographer of the Year, Ben Thouard: A wave known as Teahupo’o, as seen from below, in Tahiti, French Polynesia

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  Third place in Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year, Sebastien Pontoizeau: A freediver duck dives to capture a photograph of a humpback whale off the coast of Reunion Island

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  Nominee in Adventure Photographer of the Year, Steve Woods: Sea lions swarm a diver off Vancouver Island, Canada

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  Winner of Collective Portfolio Award, Stefan Christmann: In late spring, the emperor penguin colony almost mainly consists of chicks in Antarctica

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  Winner of Collective Portfolio Award, Stefan Christmann: When both parents are foraging, their chicks gather in creches, or mini huddles

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  Winner of Collective Portfolio Award, Stefan Christmann: A lone chick standing on the ice shelf, as the sea ice broke up too early, in Antarctica

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  Winner of Collective Portfolio Award, Stefan Christmann: Male emperor penguins huddling during polar night in Antarctica, to stay warm as a group

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  Second place in Collective Portfolio Award, Matty Smith: A southern bobtail squid performs a spectacular display on the seabed at night

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  Second place in Collective Portfolio Award, Matty Smith: Pacific Man o’ War, a colourful marine invader, under an apocalyptic red sky

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  Second place in Collective Portfolio Award, Matty Smith: The Porpita porpita siphonophore appears like a miniature spinning galaxy on the ocean surface

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  Third place in Collective Portfolio Award, Alex Kydd: A rare encounter with a fever of cownose rays on the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

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  Third place in Collective Portfolio Award, Alex Kydd: A freediver falls through an ocean full of moon jellyfish in Raja Ampat, West Papua

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  Winner of Community Choice Award, Phil de Glanville: Surfer Jack Robinson rides the famous break known as ‘The Right’, home to some of the heaviest waves in the world in Denmark, Western Australia

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  Winner of Conservation Photographer of the Year, Kerim Sabuncuoglu: A dead moray eel on an abandoned fishing line in Bodrum, Turkey

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  Highly Commended in Conservation Photographer of the Year, Thien Nguyen: Anchovy fishing boats photographed from above along the coastline of Phu Yen province, Vietnam

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  Winner of Exploration Photographer of the Year, Martin Broen: Speleothems cast long shadows at cenote Dos Pisos in Quintana Roo, Mexico

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  Third place in Exploration Photographer of the Year, Matty Smith: A portrait of a squid, taken in Bushrangers Bay, Australia

Winners of the Ocean Photography Awards 2021 have been announced, as the outdoor exhibition, showcasing some of the most striking submissions, opens to the public in London.

Waves, whales, penguins and turtles are recurring themes, with Aimee Jan named Ocean Photographer of the Year for her hypnotic image of a sea turtle crowded by a school of glass fish, taken on Ningaloo Reef in Australia.

“I was out snorkelling when one of my colleagues told me there was a turtle under a ledge in a school of glass fish, about 10 metres down,” Jan says of her image.

“When I dived down to look, the fish separated around the turtle perfectly. I said to her: ‘I think I just took the best photo I have ever taken’.”

Stefan Christmann won the Collective Portfolio Award. Here, one image shows a family of huddled penguins

Second place was awarded to Henley Spiers for her image of gannets diving for mackerel in the Shetland Islands, UK, and third place went to Matty Smith, for his shot of a turtle hatchling's first moments of life.

Including Ocean Photographer of the Year, there are eight awards in the competition.

Scroll through the gallery above to see the winning images, as well as a selection of commended entries.

Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year, the Collective Portfolio Award, Community Choice Award, Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year, Exploration Photographer of the Year, the Female Fifty Fathoms Award, and Young Ocean Photographer of the Year complete the categories.

An exhibition of more than 100 images is on display in an open-air public exhibition in London, which is free to visit until Sunday, October 17.

The display is located on The Queen's Walk near Tower Bridge on the River Thames.