R Lunging Leopard Category: Up and Coming Photographer: Sam Blount Leopard seals wield an astonishing array of dominance displays, and this one put them all to use, darting around me with effortless power. Watching that massive mouth lined with sharp teeth charge straight toward me is a thrill I’ ll never forget. Sam Blount / UPY2026
S The Roar
Category: Smartphones Photographer: Jack Ho
While shooting on the sandy seabed at 15 metres in the Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, I found this wellcamouflaged frogfish patiently lying in wait for prey. I waited for at least 15 minutes. To get a clean shot against the messy background, I aimed a macro light at its head to capture the split second it opened its huge mouth. Jack Ho / UPY2026
R Alpine Lookout
Category: Compact cameras Photographer: Andrea Michelutti
After years of waiting, I dived into a cold Alpine lake near my home in northeast Italy. Life was sparse, but I spotted a freshwater crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes among the aquatic plants. The composition I’ d planned for years is built on the transition from green vegetation to deep blue water, with mountain peaks framed in Snell’ s Window. Andrea Michelutti / UPY2026
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