Extraordinary fighting pike win best in show in 10th Ocean Art contest

Jill Studholme

3 years ago

The winner of the 10th Ocean Art competition is unique among best of show winners, as it features freshwater fish. This pair of pike were locked in a ferocious battle when Luc Rooman captured his shot during a night dive in Belgium.

Winner in the macro category was this striking image of a blenny grabbing a quick meal by Nigel Moyter.

This year’s competition celebrates a decade in search of the world’s best photos of marine life behaviour, unique portraits of intriguing underwater creatures and and images that instil an urgency for conserving our underwater planet.

*Smoke Break* by Stevan Kovacs, a winner in the Underwater Conservation category
Serial winner Kovacs explained “During a dive at a popular local dive site, I was stunned to come across this small Lizardfish that had mistaken a cigarette butt drifting by for a fish. Even more shocking was that the Lizardfish did not realize its mistake and continued to swallow the discarded butt as I photographed the spectacle”

The contest wasn’t just for photographers with professional camera gear, there were also categories for compact cameras. This photo by Kate Rister won the compact wide angle section. She said “Humpback whale mothers and their calves are seen annually in the shallow waters off of Moorea, Tahiti – typically between August and October. It’s important to approach a mother and calf slowly and with respect – not every pair will stay in the area once they spot you. We were fortunate that this mother was quite comfortable in our presence, even encouraging her shy calf to get a closer look at us by pushing him towards us with her nose.”

After ten years of the competition, there has been no shortage of novel photographic techniques and fresh ideas in the winning photographs. The new Black & White category has produced some stirring underwater scenes.

Winner of the Black and White category, *“Ancient Caves”* by Tom St George. Shot at Cenote Zacil Ha, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Ocean Art 2021 judges included prestigious underwater photographers Tony Wu, Mark Strickland, and Marty Snyderman. Mark Strickland remarked “Despite the drastic decline in dive travel compared to previous years, I was impressed by the number of quality images in most categories, including those taken with compact cameras.” First place in the compact macro was won by Kathrin Landgraf-Kluge

“Party Time” by *Kathrin Landgraf-Kluge*. She took this gathering of Idiomysis shrimps on the house reef of Makadi Bay, Egypt. A difficult shot as they were less than 3 mm long and moving like a swarm of bees.

Over $35,000 in prizes were awarded, provided by some of the world’s top scuba diving resorts, liveaboard dive boats and underwater photo gear manufacturers. Eduardo Acevedo chose a dive cruise in Indonesia with S.M.Y. Ondina for his prize for this beautiful shot of pilot whales in Tenerife