Sneezing iguana among 20 mind-blowing images from Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025
Sneezing iguana among 20 mind-blowing images from Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025
The finalists for this year's Ocean Photographer of the Year competition have been announced.
Marine iguanas, endemic to the Galapagos, are one of the most spectacular and photogenic species in the archipelago. They are veritable miniature dragons - especially when they "sneeze" to get rid of the excess salt they absorb during their dives. While I was with the tripod taking portraits of this individual - at a respectful distance, using a 600mm lens - I was lucky enough to capture the thousandth of a second of the sneeze.
Photo Credit: Arturo de Frias / Ocean Photographer of the Year
The ocean covers over 70% of our planet, yet much of its beauty and biodiversity remains unseen. The Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 competition, presented by Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain, shines a spotlight on this vast underwater world, celebrating the photographers who bring its hidden wonders to the surface.
This year’s finalists take us on an extraordinary journey beneath the waves with breathtaking images that celebrate the ocean’s splendour and highlight the urgent need to protect it. Here, we reveal 20 images from the competition – discover the full list of finalists on the Ocean Photographer of the Year website.
Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 finalists
Alexis Chappuis, Wildlife Category
Thousands of skeleton shrimps colonising a gorgonian coral in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. These crustaceans are amphipods of the genus Caprella. As these animals feed on plankton, they should not impact their host. However, in this case, there were so many of them that they may be the reason why the Gorgonian's polyps were all retracted. - Photo Credit: Alexis Chappuis / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Alvaro Herrero, Adventure Category
Alvaro Herrero's image captures a freediver alongside two humpback whales in French Polynesia. - Photo Credit: Alvaro Herrero / Ocean Photographer of the Year
In Martinique in the West Indias, octopuses are becoming increasingly rare due to human consumption. Marine reserves have been created to offer a refuge for all species, including octopuses, in order to protect them from overfishing and to preserve biodiversity. This image was taken in the Kay Pothuau Marine Reserve. - Photo Credit: Théo Maynier / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Jade Hoksbergen, Fine Art Category
This image shows a tiny juvenile candy crab, measuring a mere centimetre in size and camouflaged among pink coral beneath the waves of the Tañon Strait in the Philippines. - Photo Credit: Jade Hoksbergen / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Ysabela Coll, Fine Art Category
Coll captures the moment a stingray uses one of its survival tactics. The sudden movement disturbs the seafloor, creating a dense visual barrier that confuses predators and conceals its escape. In a single graceful motion, it demonstrates a remarkable adaptation for life on the ocean floor where defence, camouflage and movement come together in a fleeting but unforgettable display. - Photo Credit: Ysabela Coll / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Suliman Alatiqi, Wildlife Category
With the support of local rangers, Alatiqi captured this incredible shot on the Indonesian island of Komodo. The focus was to shed light on the Komodo dragon’s interaction with one of its main habitats: coastal shorelines. As cold-blooded animals, Komodo dragons rely on external sources to regulate their body temperature. During the scorching heat, they can be seen resting in shallow water or mud to lower their body temperature. As adept swimmers, they will also swim or walk across the seabed to expand their territorial search for food or mates. - Photo Credit: Suliman Alatiqi / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Ruby brittle star (Ophioderma rubicundum) is captured spawning in the reef. These brittle stars often spawn in sync with certain coral species and are known for their ability to quickly regenerate lost arms. - Photo Credit: Solvin Zankl / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Kim Hyeon Min, Hope Category
Indonesia's coral reefs are home to over 500 species of hard corals and thousands of fish species. The one pictured here by Hyeon Min has so far remain untouched by bleaching. - Photo Credit: Kim Hyeon Min / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Taken off the Antarctic peninsula, Barats captures the moment Gentoo penguins dive through the water. These penguins are capable of reaching speeds of 36km/h, making them the fastest swimmers among the 17 species of penguins. - Photo Credit: Romain Barats / Ocean Photographer of the Year
This image was taken during a dive at Gatto Island, about a 50-minute boat ride from Malapascua in the Philippines. The egg, only 2-3 centimetres in diameter, had drifted away from the squid's nest and other eggs. - Photo Credit: László Földi / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Pictured in Mexico, the behaviour exhibited by grey whales in their mating and calving lagoons in Baja California were unlike anything Subramaniam had seen. - Photo Credit: Kaushiik Subramaniam / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Andrey Shpatak, Wildlife Category
In this image, Shpatak captures the rarely seen moment a pea crab pauses on similarly coloured coral. Pea crabs spend most of their lives inside the shells of grey mussels, a symbiotic relationship that only ends when the mussel or crab dies. - Photo Credit: Andrey Shpatak / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Simon Lorenz, Hope Category
The snapper spawn is a monthly event in Palau where up to 30,000 snappers come together to spawn in strong currents. They form rapid moving groups of fish that release such dense quantities of eggs in the water that the lurking sharks can barely be seen. - Photo Credit: Simon Lorenz / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Arturo de Frias, Wildlife Category
With the ability to dive up to 20 metres, marine iguanas are the only lizards that have adapted to forage underwater and primarily consume algae. In this image, Frias has captured an iguana mid-sneeze. - Photo Credit: Arturo de Frias / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Luis Arpa, Fine Art Category
A juvenile pinnate batfish captured in the tropical waters of Indonesia’s Lembeh Strait. Juveniles are known for their striking black bodies outlined in vibrant orange, a coloration which is lost within months. - Photo Credit: Luis Arpa / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Aaron Sanders, Hope Category
Clouds of white spawn billow from a giant barrel sponge, a rare and fleeting event that breathes new life into the reef. Surrounding the sponge, a frenzy of midnight snappers feast upon the rising plumes. Mouths agape these opportunistic feeders take turns consuming the nutrient-rich spawn. - Photo Credit: Aaron Saunders / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Daniel Flormann, Impact Category
More than 100 million sharks are killed each year by humans, many as accidental bycatch. Flormann captured this image in West Papua, where three sharks died in a net meant for anchovies. - Photo Credit: Daniel Flormann / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Andrew Sullivan-Haskins, Impact Category
Inside the world’s largest albatross colony at one of the most remote locations on the planet, a specially trained technician from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) carefully weaves their way through thousands of albatross chicks while carrying a large ghost net. During their gruelling 19-day mission, the team removed more than 70,000 pounds of marine debris from this critically important wildlife habitat, ensuring that these young albatross chicks will have a better chance at survival. Over the past four years, PMDP has removed more than one million pounds of marine debris from Papahānaumokuākea. - Photo Credit: Andrew Sullivan-Haskins / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Beneath a busy fishing and ferry wharf in Sydney Harbour, Sly captured this image of a male eastern gobbleguts carry its eggs in its mouth throughout the brooding season. Typically active at night, they remain shy and quick to hide, darting into crevices or kelp at the first sign of disturbance. - Photo Credit: Daniel Sly / Ocean Photographer of the Year
Henley Spiers, Impact Category
Spiers came across this turtle, killed after a boat strike, by chance – a dispiriting sight at the end of a long and fruitless day at sea. - Photo Credit: Henley Spiers / Ocean Photographer of the Year
The category winners, along with the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025, are set to be announced in September.
Picture researcher across BBC Science Focus, BBC Countryfile and BBC Wildlife
Lily is the picture researcher across BBC Science Focus, BBC Countryfile and BBC Wildlife. She holds a degree in Photojournalism, where she specialised in social documentary reportage. Her photographic work has been shortlisted for the BarTur Photo Award’s Unity in Diversity category and exhibited internationally as part of the Urban Photo Awards. Before joining the team, she worked on freelance projects and as a product specialist for leading camera brands.
