Flickering against the wine-red backdrop, this technicolour fish looks a bit like a flame – albeit one with tiger stripes and jewels for eyes. The photo, taken by Yazid Shaari from Oman, was among the winners at this year’s Underwater Photographer of the Year awards. The competition has been running since 1965, and supports both new talent and established photographers.
From cheerful seals – clearly thrilled to be caught on camera – to dramatic shipwrecks, the competition offers a vibrant, exhilarating peep at life under water. You can check out the full list of winners on the awards website, but in the meantime, here are a few of our faves:
Wide angle category: Andy Schmid
![A manta ray and fish swim through the ocean](https://media.timeout.com/images/105864371/image.jpg)
Macro category: Hannes Klostermann
![UPY2022](https://media.timeout.com/images/105864377/image.jpg)
Wrecks category: Karlo Macas
![UPY2022](https://media.timeout.com/images/105864379/image.jpg)
Behaviour category: Francisco Javier Murcia Requena
![On an Adventure](https://media.timeout.com/images/105864380/image.jpg)
Black and white category: Borut Furlan
![UPY2022](https://media.timeout.com/images/105864385/image.jpg)
Portrait category: Matthew Smith
![UPY2022](https://media.timeout.com/images/105864381/image.jpg)
British waters wide angle category: Henley Spiers
![Under the sea](https://media.timeout.com/images/105864398/image.jpg)
British waters macro category: Paul Pettitt
![UPY2022](https://media.timeout.com/images/105864403/image.jpg)
Looking for more epic photography? This majestic elephant is among the winning snaps at the Sony World Photography Awards 2022.
Plus: check out these aerial shots from the Drone Photo Awards.