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
Macro category: Hannes Klostermann
Wrecks category: Karlo Macas
Behaviour category: Francisco Javier Murcia Requena
Black and white category: Borut Furlan
Portrait category: Matthew Smith
British waters wide angle category: Henley Spiers
British waters macro category: Paul Pettitt
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.