SCUBA presents the category winners from this year’ s Underwater Photographer of the Year competition, plus the stories behind the images
PHOTOGRAPHY
Ocean Eye: UPY 2026
SCUBA presents the category winners from this year’ s Underwater Photographer of the Year competition, plus the stories behind the images
Underwater Photographer of the Year
Q Rockpool Rookies
Category: Portrait Photographer: Matthew Smith
Once several weeks old and weaned from their mothers’ milk, elephant seal pups are abandoned by their parents on shore, left to navigate life alone. On Sealion Island in the Falklands, I watched dozens of them clamber over one another in shallow rockpools, awkwardly learning to swim. I’ d come here for this moment, to witness their first solo lessons in life. On the very first evening of my arrival, the sky ignited with colour. I donned my drysuit and rushed into the water, capturing a handful of frames before the light vanished. It turned out to be the defining moment of the trip, and I’ m glad I didn’ t hesitate. Matty Smith / UPY2026
S Calm at the Heart of Turmoil Category: Macro Photographer: Seong Cheol Cho While diving in Tulamben with my guide, Jaye, I encountered a commensal shrimp living within a naturally spiralling whip
coral; something I had long hoped to see. The coral’ s deep, rich green formed a striking nest for the brightly coloured shrimp resting inside. By introducing red and blue light against the green coral, I wanted to create a sense of intense beauty combined with visual turbulence, while expressing the shrimp’ s stillness at the centre. Seong Cheol Cho / UPY2026
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