Sara Benabdallah was born and raised in the Marrakech Medina, Morocco, in the 1990s. “At the time, we were the only Moroccan family who owned our riad” she says, “all the rest were owned by foreigners.” The rapid change in the Medina since that time looms for Moroccans who grew up in this part of the city, filled with ancient riad buildings, some dating back to the 13th century. Benabdallah, a photographer, has been privy to the rise of tourism in this part of Marrakech, and how it’s morphed the atmosphere of the medina. She recalls the ways the souks have subtly been adapted to appeal to tourists over the last three decades. “When you walk around the medina you see all these doors in the souk, to various shops” she says, “those doors used to be different colors and we would use that color to give direction. You know, instructions — ‘turn left at the green door’, but now every door is the same. It looks like a Disney version of Marrakech.”

Benabdallah grew up living in multiple riads whilst her parents flipped them before renting them out to tourists — “it was like living on a building site!” Living with her family and grandparents in this quickly changing area of Marrakech led to Benabdallah wanting to commemorate its inhabitants, particularly her own family. Her photo series xxx and xxx feature her cousin and grandmother in and around the medina, with Benabdallah’s glitzy American West inspired post-production adding a rhinestone incrusted edge to the scene. Recently, she exhibited these images at the sixth edition of 1-54 Marrakech Contemporary Art Fair. “I brought my grandmother with me to see her own photos” she says, “it was an incredible day.”

Since 2013, 1-54 Art Fair has given a platform to artists in Africa and its diaspora, after half a decade of success in London exhibiting yearly in October at Somerset House, founder Touria el Glaoui decided to establish a yearly outpost of the fair in Marrakech — “welcoming the most incredible audiences and collectors”, she says. “It’s a career-defining experience, just to be exposed to that audience” Benabdallah says of the fair. Benabdallah references a big range of creative disciplines, from fashion to architecture. Some of the first tourists that came to Marrakech’s Medina were artists, photographers and fashion designers — “these were the first tourists that came to the medina”, she says, “so I met Jean Paul Gaultier, Jean Nouvel and Laetitia Fourgeaud young, and their work inspired me.” Here, Benabdallah talks about the changes in the medina and representing her own family in her images.

What was it like growing up in the middle of the medina in Marrakech in the 1990s?

I was born and raised in the medina, in traditional homes. My family have a deep love for Moroccan riads, many of which were abandoned in Marrakech. Some Morrocans were enamored by modern homes and villas in the newer parts of town, so left the medina. The old riads are also very expensive and hard to maintain, some people gave them up. My parents bought and renovated a few riads in the medina when I was little and we would live in them when they did them up, it was like living on a construction site! When the work was done we would rent the riad out to tourists. At the time most of the tourists were photographers and painters, that was my introduction to the art world. We were the only Moroccan family that owned riads in Marrakech at that point and that’s something very special to me, and that infiltrated my work. At age 17 I moved to the US and loved New York, and lived there for about nine years and in 2021, I decided to move back home to Morocco.

How has the medina changed from when you were growing up in the 90s, to when you moved back in 2021?

A lot of Morrocans never stepped foot in the medina. There’s a split in the Moroccan community, some of those who have more means are more interested in a European type of housing you can get in Marrakech. Of course now, the medina has become very gentrified and it’s now very expensive to live there. There is no law to stop foreign people buying up properties in the medina, no rules and no regulations. There are some foreigners who bought historical riads in Marrakech in the 1980s and would remove the original features like the doors and sell them, that was the first thing to go. I see a lot in the medina now this effort to make some of the souks look like what a tourist might expect them to look like, not what they actually are.

Can you give an example?

When you walk around the medina you see all these doors in the souk to various shops. Those doors used to be different colors and we would use that color to give direction, you know, ‘turn left at the green door’ – but now every door is the same. It looks like a Disney version of Marrakech. It happens in Fez too. I love Fez, we have a riad there, it’s a very important city. Maybe a year or so ago, an artist who has been making tea for people in the medina for years told me he was really sad because the city is doing renovations and they think his shop is not touristy enough. They took his shop away.

You can definitely feel the difference between Marrakech now and ten years ago as a tourist. Is there no law that could protect your friend from that?

Unfortunately not.

How different was the type of tourist you used to see in the medina in the 1990s?

We had everyone from the empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi to Jean Paul Gaultier. There was Jean Nouvel and Yves Saint Laurent, these people, how they saw creativity and glamor impacted my photography.

Would you define some of your work as fashion photography? I saw you work with stylists and hair and make up teams. Your photograph No. 5 feels like a fashion image.

I love fashion and I love Moroccan fashion history. I think fashion can be a great tool for storytelling in the art world. No. 5, with the donkey and woman in a knitted outfit, that’s my cousin and I stumbled across an outfit men used to wear in the Atlas Mountains. It’s a fully knitted outfit, it was for the people who would work shoveling the snow in the mountains. You never think of Moroccan fashion when you think of knitting, but it looked so contemporary and modern. I found someone who could make an outfit using the same technique for my cousin to wear in that shot.

You focus on North African women a lot, what are you looking for when you’re searching for a subject?

Many of the women in my photos are family. The woman in No. 1 is my grandmother, I’m interested in women with stories of Marrakech and the medina. The theme for that series was inspired by the astrolabs, created in ancient Greece and refined in the Islamic age – the woman who did this was from Syria. But yet we don’t hear about this woman, and this is a really common thing. There’s also Fatima al-Fihri who was a scholar who built the first and oldest University in the world in Fez, she’s Moroccan. To me she’s the essence of the Moroccan woman, she’s the backbone of her community, society and home.

You exhibited these photos at the 1-54 Art Fair in Marrakech last week and you brought your grandmother to see her photos. What was that experience like?

She was so happy, she couldn’t believe it was her!

1-54 has a lot of credibility as a platform, it’s a career-accelerating place to show. How do you feel about it?

It was so amazing. The 8th of February is a special day in Islam, it’s a very religious day, and then the day after it rained for the first time in over a year. It just felt like such a special time. After my show opened I walked back to my studio for 30 minutes in the rain. I was so just so grateful for it all.

Your production in the Rhinestone Niqab series is so saturated, with lots of references. How do you get all these references into the photo in post production?

I shoot with a Cannon and then I love to add in the stars and photoshop in aspects after. I was inspired by the surrealists, by cowboys, by space and I like that odd contrast of the three. To me, that’s Morocco. There’s so much that’s changed about Morocco. They used to have bamboo shields over the streets that impacted the light and I wanted to have some of that light in my work, so I tried to recreate it.

You know I’m so inspired by cowboy culture and American western culture. I wanted to have these embroideries embellished by rhinestones. And then I had cowboy boots which I had my grandmother wearing! Again, it’s that contrast, which is what Morrocco means to me.

Sarah Moon: On the Edge is currently on display at the Howard Greenberg Gallery and includes 30 images from over four decades of Moon’s illustrious photography career.

The show will run until April 6, 2024, and provide an insight into the ethos behind Moon’s signature style, a style that remains present across all genres of her work. Although perhaps best known for being one of the greatest fashion photographers of all time, and having work published in publications such as Vogue, Marie Claire, and Harpar’s Bazaar, Moon’s still lifes and landscapes also capture the same essence that makes the images unmistakenly Sarah Moon. Often working with Polaroid film, Moon’s images evoke a sense of mystery that often conjures more questions than it answers. 

• See our guide to the best instant cameras

Sarah Moon began her career in front of the camera as a fashion model in the 1960s until she started working behind it in 1970. She began to make images that challenged the aesthetic of the time, opting for a more artistic and ethereal tone which gained her work recognition. Moon’s intimate feminine gaze and blurred aesthetic stood out in a field dominated by men, paving the way for more women photographers to join her ranks. Moon’s work was more than capturing the obvious but instead captured compelling mystery.

Her style developed further and drifted between genres, earning her shows and exhibitions all over the world. Sarah Moon: On the Edge has been curated by the artist, and includes a selection of work made between the 1980s to 2022.

In describing the work selected for the exhibition Moon states “All along, I tried to avoid the anecdote, looking for an echo between what I see and what I feel, trying to reach that visual point of no return, that second that cannot happen again.”

“Today, I realize that minimalism means more and more to me whatever I photograph, trying to get to the essential of what I see, cropping the subject out of its context, reducing it to that second, to that limit of time, grasping light before it vanishes. The photos I am presenting here are on the edge of that attempt.”

The Howard Greenberg Gallery has built a vast collection of some of the most important photographs in the medium and has a long-standing relationship with Moon and her work. Having first worked together over 30 years ago, the gallery has exhibited many of Moon’s shows and films and also produced two of her artistic books.

Howard Greenberg says “She has achieved world-class status as one of the greats, a living legend. This will be Sarah’s first gallery exhibition in America in 12 years and will continue to demonstrate the unique style and artistry of Sarah Moon!”

Not to be missed, Sarah Moon: On the Edge is on display now until April 6, 2024, at the Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York. It is certainly an inspirational exhibition that will last long in the memory.

We keep a guide to the best books on photography at Digital Camera World.

iMore’s iPhone Photography Week 2024 is the perfect themed week to sharpen up your photo-capturing skills with your smartphone. With expert tutorials from professional photographers, fun features, and reviews, iPhone Photography Week is the perfect place to kickstart your journey to becoming a better photographer.

Throughout the week, we’ll publish new content, including the iPhone Photography Basics course, which has been carefully curated by Mike Harris, a professional photographer and Deputy Editor of N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine. 

We’ve also got some fun features taking you through the history of iPhone photography from the greatest innovations to the times the smartphone has been used for professional videography. 

Whether you’re a budding photographer or someone who just wants to point and shoot, iMore’s iPhone Photography Week 2024 is a fun and informative week-long event that you sure don’t want to miss.

Bookmark this page and keep checking back for new guides, tips and features as they go live.

iPhone Photography Week 2024

The cameras on the best iPhones make taking photos easy, but there’s always room for improvement. The first in our iPhone Photography Basics series gives you seven tips to improve your pictures instantly without taking any form of professional course. From learning how to edit efficiently to taking photos during The Golden Hour, these tips will set you on the right path towards taking better photos with your iPhone. 

This contents page is being regularly updated throughout iPhone Photography Week 2024. Expect new posts to appear daily, focused on making your photos shot with iPhone better than ever before.

Share your photos with iMore on X (Twitter) using #iMorePhotographyWeek

An image of a freediver examining the aftermath of modern whaling has seen Swedish diver Alex Dawson named Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024 – beating 6,500 other entries from around the world.

“Whale Bones was photographed in the toughest conditions, as a breath-hold diver descends below the Greenland ice-sheet to bear witness to the carcasses,” said judging panel chair Alex Mustard of the shot, which topped the Wide Angle category. 

“The composition invites us to consider our impact on the great creatures of this planet. Since the rise of humans, wild animals have declined by 85%. Today, just 4% of mammals are wildlife, the remaining 96% are humans and our livestock. Our way needs to change to find a balance with nature.”

Whales dominated the winning pictures this year, with Spanish photographer Rafael Fernandez Caballero winning two categories with a close-up of a grey whale’s eye and an action shot of a Bryde’s whale engulfing a bait-ball, both taken in Magdalena Bay, Baja California, Mexico. 

Lisa Stengel from the USA was named Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year for her image of a mahi mahi catching a sardine, also in Mexico.

“It is such an exciting time in underwater photography, because photographers are capturing such amazing new images by visiting new locations and using the latest cameras,” commented Mustard. “Until this year I’d hardly ever see a photo of a mahi mahi. Now Lisa has photographed one hunting, action that plays out in the blink of an eye.”

The Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) contest is an annual competition based in the UK, and Jenny Stock was named British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024 for her Star Attraction, finding beauty in often overlooked brittlestars.

Meanwhile Portuguese photographer Nuno Sá was named Save Our Seas Foundation Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2024 with another whale shot, this one topside. His Saving Goliath showed beachgoers in Portugal trying to save a stranded sperm whale. 

Celebrating photography beneath the surface of the ocean, lakes, rivers and even swimming pools, UPY is judged by Mustard and fellow experienced underwater photographers Peter Rowlands and Tobias Friedrich. The winners were announced at a London award ceremony that recognised the top three images in each of the 13 categories – below are the outright winners in each one:

Wide Angle / Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024

Whale Bones / Alex Dawson

Swedish photographer Dawson captured the striking image shown above at Tasiilaq, eastern Greenland, where hunters bring their catches and share them out. From a stable population of more than 100,000 minke whales in the North Atlantic, they typically take fewer than a dozen. 

The whale is pulled up on the beach at high tide and many families gather to cut it up at low tide, consuming almost all of it. The skeleton is pulled back into the sea by the next high tide and marine invertebrates and fish pick the bones clean in the shallows.

“A very arresting image right from the start; for me this got bigger and better with every viewing,” said Peter Rowlands. “The diver’s suit and torch give it a ‘visiting alien’ feel, the composition flows effortlessly and takes your eye on the right journey to tell the story.”

(Taken with a NikonZ7 II + 8-15mm fisheye, Nauticam housing, natural light. f/4.5, 1/60th, ISO 500)

Macro

Abstract Portrait Of A Potbelly Seahorse / Talia Greis

“I was drawn to this particular seahorse because it had especially distinguished markings around the eye, and the jaw-dropping colour palette made a striking contrast with the surrounding coral,” says Australian photographer Talia Greis, who was diving at Bare Island. 

“While seahorses are not rare on Sydney dive-sites, photographing one that can really stand out has always been a dream for me. I chose to open the aperture all the way down to f/3.5, which transformed the coral into an out-of-focus cloud-like effect, but also embraced the ominous green waters of Sydney summer diving. 

“To me the seahorse’s striking red eye and posture conveys power and strength, arising from the smoky underbelly of the ocean.” 

“We love how the photographer captured the character of both the secretive seahorse and the murky waters of Sydney in this picture with excellent use of light, a striking colour contrast and an inventive composition,” said Alex Mustard. “Beautiful.”

(Taken with a Sony A1 + Nikon 60mm Macro with Monster adapter, Isotta housing, Inon strobe with backscatter snoot. f/3.5, 1/200th, ISO 200)

Wrecks

Chieftain Tanks / Martin Broen

US photographer Martin Broen had been competing in the first Aqaba underwater photo competition in Jordan. The underwater Military Museum site features war machines sunk in 15-28m, stationed along the reefs in tactical battle formation. 

“I wanted to capture the symmetry of the Chieftain tanks and strong presence of their 120mm guns, but the position where I could shoot that image with my fish-eye lens was occupied by a military ambulance,” he says. 

“Therefore, I experimented with a six-shot panorama from a point between the guns, which allowed me to recreate the virtual position further back, and achieve an elegant symmetry of the tanks, supported by the central focal point of my dive-buddy in the back.”

“This worked for me in a big way and still does very much,” said Rowlands. “The panorama choice – position and lens – emphasises the barrels and the twin-torch model could be a support helicopter. 

“The skill with panoramas is envisaging the end result. This powerful image works on several levels and was my clear favourite in this category and overall. In today’s troubled times, it is uplifting to see the apparatus of war put to peaceful use.”

(Taken with a Sony a1 + Canon 8-15mm, Nauticam housing, two Big Blue 33000 lumen strobes. f/9, 1/100th, ISO 1600)

Behaviour

The End Of A Baitball / Rafael Fernandez Caballero

The Spanish photographer was diving in the open Pacific waters of Magdalena Bay at La Paz at the end of 2023 at which time, he says, warmer El Niño water had encouraged more species than ever to join the hunt. 

“The main stars of the show, visiting Baja in perhaps larger numbers than ever, were the Bryde’s whales,” he says. “This photo shows the very moment of attack, with the whale’s ventral pleats wide open and filtering the prey from the water using their baleens after engulfing hundreds of kilograms of sardines in one bite – simply unforgettable.

“Absolutely jaw-dropping – pun intended,” commented Rowlands. “Perfectly posed and composed at the peak of the action with sunshine highlights, this image leapt out and we never tired of admiring it. Big subject, big image, big winner.”

(Taken with a Nikon Z9 + Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 S-Line, Isotta housing, natural light. f/10, 1/400th, ISO 640)

Portrait

Grey Whale Connection / Rafael Fernandez Caballero

Caballero says that encounters with grey whales in Pacific saltwater lagoons are extremely special, and this interaction also occurred in Magdalena Bay.

“Known for their friendly and curious nature, grey whales often approach boats, allowing observers to witness distinctive behaviours like spy-hopping,” he says. “This photo was taken from the boat, where the whale displayed a friendly gaze toward my camera, resembling a human look of curiosity and innocence. 

“During their migration from the Bering Sea to Baja California, these lagoons serve as crucial havens and winter maternity wards. With only around 1,300 grey whales left, responsible practices of ecotourism are key to protect these giants. 

“These special moments highlight the beauty and intelligence of the whales, creating enduring memories for both observers and, surely, the curious whales themselves.”

“Few people have ever gazed into the eye of a whale, but through this remarkable image many will be able to catch a glimpse of this intelligent soul,” commented Mustard. “A ground-breaking underwater portrait.”

(Taken with a Nikon Z7 II + 8-15mm, Isotta housing, no lights, f/11, 1/250th, ISO 360)

Black & White

Water Dancers / Jasmine Skye Smith

“This image was from a creative shoot from my first underwater portrait exhibition Underneath, held in August 2023,” says the Australian photographer, who took the picture in Perth. “I approached some girls from the synchronised swimming team to do a shoot and I booked the heated dive pool as it was our winter. 

“I was expecting to be using the 3m depth side but at the last minute they said we would be using the 5m end, which was amazing to play with in such a controlled environment – but also came with the challenge of a slanted edge down the bottom.” As a result it proved very difficult for the photographer to keep the black backdrop in place with her usual weights. 

“The two 6 x 3m backdrops only held in place for a few minutes before coming apart – and this was one of the magical captures in that short window.” 

“Black and white! A minimalist composition that invites us to compare and contrast the two halves of this intriguing frame,” said Mustard. “Fantastic teamwork between the photographer and the two elegant models.”

(Taken with a Canon R6 + RF 15-35, Aquatech housing, natural light. f/3.2, 1/320th, ISO 2000)

Compact

Nudi On Fire / Enrico Somogyi

This picture of a Hypsolodoris apolegma nudibranch with an emperor shrimp on its head was taken in Tulamben on Bali, Indonesia by the German photographer. To create the fire-like background he built a special tool. “It took me a long time to get it to work,” he says, but in the end he got the picture he was looking for.

“This shot seems to have it all,” commented Mustard. “A nudibranch on eggs, with a commensal shrimp on the nudibranch, all set against a golden explosion of light. Enrico once again shows that having a compact camera at the heart of his system is no limitation to producing stunning underwater images.” 

(Taken with a Sony Rx100vii + Nauticam Emwl 100, modified Fantasea housing, two Backscatter MF1 strobes. f /11, 1/2000th, ISO 125)

Up & Coming

Window Of Opportunity / Lisa Stengel

US photographer Stengel had spent what she described as an exciting week looking for bait-balls in Pacific Mexico’s Magdalena Bay. “The season’s unique water temperatures kept the marlin farther from reach, but brought an interesting phenomenon: an unprecedented amount of mahi mahi,” she says.

“I chose not to wear a hood and noticed a distinct noise from the bait-ball every time the mahi would attempt to hit a target. If you listen closely, there’s an enormous amount of sound in the ocean, especially surrounding bait-balls. 

“I honed in on the sound of mahi attacks and followed this unmistakeable sound with my camera. This technique, coupled with serendipitous conditions, gave me the window of opportunity to capture this special moment.”

“What a moment!” said Mustard. “This is a phenomenal action photo, capturing high-speed hunting at the decisive moment. Definitely one of the most remarkable images in the contest and we love how Lisa used all her senses to capture this amazing photo.”

(Taken with a Sony A7RIII + FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM, Nauticam housing, natural light. f/6.3, 1/3200th, ISO 1000)

British Waters Wide Angle

Divebomb / Kat Zhou

The US photographer captured this shot on a trip to dive with northern gannets in Shetland. “The experience of being amidst dive-bombing gannets is both chaotic and adrenaline-fuelled, and it was hard to choose where to aim my camera!

“I tried to photograph any bird that zoomed by, and I was pleasantly surprised when I later saw how this shot was able to depict the dynamic motion of the experience.”

“There is an amazing sense of purpose in the eyes of these gannets as they dive into the chilly waters in search of food,” said Mustard. “The judges also loved those bubble-rings that show the energy the birds are exerting during this underwater hunt.” 

(Taken with a Nikon D850 +  8-15mm fisheye w/ Kenko 1.4x teleconverter, Nauticam housing, Inon Z330 strobe. f/11, 1/250th, ISO 400)

British Waters Macro / British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024

Star Attraction / Jenny Stock

“Loch Leven is a Scottish dive-site near Oban that can be can easily be accessed via a lay-by on the A82,” says the UK photographer. “Once there, a walk down a steep leafy track will lead you into the ‘refreshing’ water. 

“As I descended into the dark green depths of the sea loch, on a dusk dive, I approached an area where my torch picked out the vivid colours of a living carpet of thousands of brittlestars.

“Captivated by the variety of hues and patterns each star took, I felt this was an incredible encounter with a species I’d never seen before. I was happily snapping away when I spotted this purple sea urchin and I got really excited. 

“A dominant star next to this graphic invertebrate created a beautifully balanced pair, perfectly surrounded by an entanglement of the background brittlestars.”

“This is a celebratory British image on many levels – a full-frame carpet of vibrant, healthy marine life with complementary colours, well composed and very original,” said Rowlands. “Subtlety is a gamble in competitions but this one paid off and appealed to all the judges alike.”

(Taken with a Canon 5D5D IV + 100mm, Nauticam housing, Retra strobe. f/10, 1/125th, ISO 100)

British Waters Living Together

Bottled Blenny / Kirsty Andrews

“Butterfly blennies naturally choose abandoned whelk shells as their home but it seems they can get creative,” says Andrews, who took her winning photo in Cornwall. “On the seabed of the river Fal, among beautiful pink maerl, many have chosen to use discarded glass bottles as a shelter. Waste not, want not.”

“Characterful and cute, this rare blenny is perfectly framed in its new home inside a glass bottle, with amazing eye contact that just grabs our attention,” said Mustard.

(Taken with a Nikon D500 + 60mm, Nauticam housing, two Retra Pro strobes. f/11, 1/250th, ISO 200)

British Waters Compact

Catshark In Bootlace / Jon Bunker

“The bootlace weed can sometimes completely blanket the pebbles overlooking the reef at Chesil Cove in the summer,” says Bunker of his Dorset shot. “Scores of catshark, cuttles, young conger and other night-time predators patrol this seasonal ‘jungle’ slope, happy to snack on whatever comes their way. 

“This sleepy catshark was, as you can see, unsure what to make of me, poking its head tentatively through the weed to establish if I was either threat or food. While it was considering this, I managed to play around with my strobes a little in an attempt to diffuse some of the light through the tresses of early summer algae. 

“My subject let me to take three shots before swimming off into the night.”

Rowlands considered the photograph “a delightfully observed and well-lit image of an iconic British subject more often photographed full-bodied in the open but this has a much stronger photographic appeal and I would have recaptioned it ‘Food or Foe’. The back-story confirms that it soon decided: Foe.”

(Taken with a Sony Rx100 M5A + 19mm equivalent with Inon UWL-H100 dome, Nauticam housing, two Inon s-2000 strobes. f/11, 1/60th, ISO 100)

Marine Conservation / SOSF Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2024

Saving Goliath / Nuno Sá

The Portuguese photographer captured this image at Fonte da Telha in his home country. “The golden beaches of Costa da Caparica, just across the river from Lisbon, were packed with sun-seekers on this sunny day, and then something unusual caught their attention on the horizon,” he says.

“A massive sperm whale seemed to be struggling to swim as it slowly moved towards the coast. Soon its giant wounded body was passing by surfers and swimmers and reaching the shallow waters of the beach. 

“But suddenly dozens of sun-seekers start running towards the whale. Together they push and chant, trying to help the giant back into the sea, as it slowly slaps its tail back and forth, and breathes heavily. 

“Several hours later the whale takes its last breath, its body crushed by gravity as it lays on the sand. An estimated 20,000 whales are killed every year, and many more injured, after being struck by ships – and few people even realise that it happens.”

Rowlands commented: “This isn’t supposed to be an easy category to view but this has a pleasing element visually, which created a feeling of confidence until I read the caption and found that all that hope and all that effort, from both sides, came to nought. It’s sad, so sad but it works on several levels.”

(Taken with a DJI Phantom 4 PRO + 24mm. f/11, 1/100th, ISO 400)

See all the Underwater Photographer of the Year top three category winners and judges’ comments at the UPY 24 website. You can also download the complete 2024 Yearbook.

Also on Divernet: UPY celebrates 10 years of photo competition, Pink dolphin smile for Underwater Photographer of the Year, Whale shark triumph at UPY 2022, Sharks’ Skylight brings UPY victory