A Pair of Elephant Seal Pups Wins the 2026 Underwater Photographer of the Year

From dramatic aquatic encounters to deep caves to fish and amphibians closely guarding their eggs, there’s an entire world below the surface that few of us ever really get to see. That’s where images like those in the annual Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) come in, glimpsing some of the darkest depths and most alluring and fragile ecosystems on the planet.

The top prize of the 2026 competition, which has been running annually since 1965, goes to Matthew Smith for his capture of two young elephant seals in the Falkland Islands. Additional winning images include Natalie Yarrow’s tableau of hinge-beak shrimp inside a pink barrel sponge, Khaichuin Sim’s observation of the controversial annual whale hunt in the Faroe Islands, and Sam Blount’s dramatic encounter with a leopard seal.

Two octopuses encounter one another underwater — © Kirsty Andrews (U.K.), “Dusk Encounter,” Porthkerris, Cornwall, U.K. Runner-up in the British Waters Wide Angle category

UPY’s categories range from portraits to coral reefs to macro images, all with an emphasis on the diversity, beauty, and vulnerability of the vast parts of our submerged world. We’ve shared a selection of our favorites here, but you can see the entire winners’ gallery on UPY’s website, and follow updates on Instagram.

Correction: This article previously misidentified the pups in Matthew Smith’s photo as sea lions. They are elephant seals.

An amphibian holds onto an underwater reed, holding its eggs in its arms — © Anton Sorokin (U.S.), “Egg Clutcher,” San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S. Third place in the Behavior category

A close-up photograph of dozens of translucent fish eggs — © Dan Bolt (U.K.), “New Life,” Manse Point, U.K. Third place in the British Waters Macro category

A small white fish swims over colorful coral — © Simon Theuma (Australia), “A Time to Dream,” The Gutter, Shellharbour, NSW, Australia. Third place in the Macro category

An underwater photograph of a brightly illuminated blue fish — © Steven Kovacs (U.S.), “Screaming Swallower,” Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. Runner-up in the Portrait category

Little hinge-beak shrimps wander around inside of a pink coral colony — © Natalie Yarrow (U.K.), “Crowded House,” Bali, Indonesia. Highly commended in the Up & Coming category and winner of Most Promising British Underwater Photographer 2026

A photograph of a fish protecting its eggs — © Kazushige Horiguchi (Japan). “Clownfish Hatchout,” Kagoshima Minamisatsuma, Japan. Winner of the Behavior category

A dark underwater photograph of the underside of fish, which is illuminated dramatically from above — © Fabian Becker (Germany), “JAWS,” Bohol, Philippines. Runner-up in the Macro category

A close-up shot of a leopard seal with a wide-open mouth — © Sam Blount (U.S.), “Lunging Leopard,” Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica. Winner of the Up & Coming category and Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026

A half-underwater photo at sunset of a shark swimming just below the surface of the water above a coral reef — © Renee Capozzola (U.S.), “Sunset Patrol,” Fakarava, French Polynesia. Runner-up in the Coral Reefs category

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