Overview
- Organizers published the finalists on Thursday, August 13, selecting images from thousands of global entries that span underwater, drone and coastal photography.
- A new category called “Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds” spotlights tiny and rarely seen species such as a grain-of-rice–sized pygmy seahorse.
- Finalists include dramatic wildlife scenes—for example, photos of orcas carrying a humpback calf—and images that document human impacts like plastic entanglement, crowded wildlife tourism and sprawling aquaculture.
- Will Harrison, the contest founder and director, said the photographs are meant to surface urgent planetary stories, and the competition frames photography as a tool for conservation storytelling.
- Winners will be announced in September with ABC reporting the ceremony is scheduled for September 11, and the contest continues to position Oceanographic and Blancpain’s partnership as a platform for ocean advocacy.