The author of the image had been photographing clownfish for over three years before managing to capture an image like this.
The winning photographs of the 'Underwater Photographer of the Year' competition show the beauty and magnificence of underwater life. Metro presents some of the best winning snapshots.
- Underwater Photographer of the Year: Rockpool Novices
The winning photo shows a pair of elephant seal pups that have been abandoned by their parents on the coast of Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands, where they must fend for themselves.
- Newcomer of the Year: Leopard in Ambush
The protagonist of this image is a leopard seal launching directly towards the photographer and showing its enormous mouth full of sharp teeth, causing an emotion the winner will never forget.
- Conservation Photographer of the Year (Save Our Seas Foundation): Where Innocence Meets Tradition
In this moving scene, a small child sits on a dead whale in waters dyed blood-red in the Faroe Islands, where the annual grindadráp, or pilot whale hunt, takes place every year.
- Wide Angle Winner: Happy Baby
This snapshot represents a truly magical encounter between the photographer and a curious sperm whale calf, who proudly showed its emerging teeth, playfully rolling upside down while waiting for its mom at the surface.
- Winner, Behaviour: The Hatching of Clownfish
This winning photograph captures the exact moment clownfish eggs hatch in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
