Underwater world: 25 exciting photos

The underwater world is fraught with many mysteries. The competition "Underwater Photographer of the Year" proves this, reflecting the diversity inherent in the ocean, lakes and rivers around the world.

Photographers dived into very cold water, swam through the caves past hungry predators, waiting for the perfect moment to capture a crab or a fast flock of fish.

The article presents 25 photos from the collection of winners of this year.

The sea lion playing with the starfish of Francis Perez

In Los Aylotes (Mexico), there are settlements of young sea lions. To photograph the animals, the photographer spent 4 hours under water.

"From the blue" Nick Blake

Kukulkan Senot on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico is part of the Chac Mool system and is marked by stunning light effects, at the moment when the sun penetrates into the darkness ... The light reflections flickered and faded as the sun periodically closed with a cloud and then reappeared.

"Under my umbrella" Caitlin Krasiun

The idea of this photo is explained by the need to show people that free immersion means not only descent and movement along the line, but rather, dreaming, entertainment and learning.

"Silversides in the Twilight" by Anatoly Myshlyaev

After this place was found near the pier, the silversmiths for a long time were in the author's consciousness. And when the monsoon rains stopped for a short period, the photographer jumped into the water to take a stunning picture. The photographer watched as the last rays of light disappear on the horizon. "

"The Orc-Pod" by Nikolai Gheorghiu

Orcs are the most beautiful, intelligent and confident whales with which to be near - a real honor. This photo was taken during a diving period with a wild orc in Norway lasting a week. It was awesome. The days in winter are quite short, and the water temperature was about 5 degrees, but the photographer used a thick wetsuit, and, of course, next to the orc, the cold was quickly forgotten.

"His eyes" by Trevor Reese

The photographer has tried many times to capture these long clawed squat lobsters (Munida rugosa). For incredible filming, a professional dived in "The Sound of Mullah" on the west coast of Scotland.

Greg Leccher's "Green Tortoise in the Rays"

During the dive in Tenerife, the photographer took these green turtles. In his memory, it was early morning, and the sun's rays pierced the surface.

"The hunting of dolphins" by Greg Lecher

During migration along the wild coast, all dolphins act together to hunt sardines. But the behavior is becoming more and more unpredictable. To seize this moment, the photographer spent several days in the ocean. He dreamed of catching at least one chance to witness this behavior.

"The Capture of History" by Thani Houpermans

During the Second World War, German submarines patrolled the waters off the eastern coast of the United States. In May 1942, the U-352 fired at the USCGC Icarus, but gave a slip. Icarus gave a retaliatory salvo, and the U-352 sank 26 miles south-east of Beaufort Bay.

"Sacrifice" Sau Yat Wai

This frame was taken during the immersion in black water in Anilão. Despite the fact that the shrimp mantis larvae (left) are very small, they are still predators, which uses their tearing appendages for hunting. He noticed the prey and is ready to pounce.

"Medusa from the Berry" by Su Sullivan

Lodberrys - a series of buildings of the late XVIII century, used in shipping trade. These are the most significant structures of the Shetland Islands. The author wanted to try something new and show people what lies under the underwater line of these famous sights.

"Walk" by Eero Helfors

The photographer had a plan to make ice diving and make beautiful pictures of a lake covered with a thick layer of ice. Master took pictures, being under the ice. Freezing fingers and one-hour work, including sawing a hole on ice and transporting all the equipment on ice in a sleigh - all this was not easy.

"Violet bait in the yellow sea" Trevory Rice

This large frame containing precious anemones was removed when immersed in a sunken ship near Plymouth on the south coast of England. There are different species of the species, but those with violet color create a bright combination with yellow.

"Demon of Darkness" by Damien Maurik

When visiting the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin was outraged by the appearance of animals, writing: "Black lava stones on the beach are often large, disgusting clumsy lizards ... I call them" demons of darkness ". The sea iguana is just a monster. The species that lives on these islands, provides a rare opportunity of filming. This animal belongs to endangered species.

Is not it true, the underwater world is amazing!

"Can I help you?" Ellen Kuylarts

It seems that the seals knew that their photo would be very pleasant, and that's why they came very close.

"Competition" by Richard Shuxmith

Hundreds of pelicans circled over the boat, looking for fish that were thrown in different directions. Suddenly one bird sinks, and others see it as an indicator, and many birds dive at a time.

"The migrating aleuin swims over the torrent" by Sean Landsman

This place on Prince Edward Island (Canada) has a dam that prevents access to spawning sites. It is very difficult to see fish moving through bubble water. Dozens of frames were taken to get this single image.

"Kiss me!" By David Barrio

El Bayon is an impressive dive in the marine reserve of El Hierro Island. Due to the non-market status in this area, some dark perches (Epinephelus marginatus) could grow and reach very large sizes ... It is interesting that these large specimens are used to divers and sometimes allow photographers to approach very closely, as in this picture.

"A look at dawn" Pasquale Vassallo

For several months, the photographic work of the master was focused mainly on the large number of jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo in the Gulf of Naples. In this picture, several crabs rent a place on the body of a jellyfish. When the jellyfish descends on the sandy bottom, they jump off it in different directions.

"Your Home and My Home" Qing Ling

Clown anemones enjoy a symbiotic relationship ... These three fish were very curious. When the photographer swam, they danced around the camera lens. The author of the work required six dives, patience and luck to fix the exact moment when all three fish opened their mouths.

"Ghost Room" by Nadezhda Kulagina

Crypt with cars is relatively small and very dark, so the photographer should be very careful not to pick up silt and rust ... For her, these three cars mean as much as the famous three heroes of the Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov.

"Future parents" by Suzanne H. Snowden-Smith

Two shrimps, including one with eggs, were photographed on the bottom of a purple sponge. Two shrimp with claws is a rare find on the Grand Cayman. These are the only creatures you could see for more than 300 dives on the island! During diving, the photographer developed the habit of looking carefully at each purple sponge vase she encountered.

"Interaction" of Edward Herreno

The author of the pictures wanted to express the movement, so he set his camera over the rock (he did not have a tripod), and then, after a few minutes, this large congregation was completely surrounded. A magical moment!

"Ocean in the Sky" by Horatio Martinez

This was the author's first experience in the Red Sea. The sea was the first photo salon for the master. The work was interesting, but difficult. At the last dive, Martinez dared and dived a little deeper to get a more distinct footage of the ocean.

"Dancing Octopus" by Gabriel Baratier

In the lagoon of Mayotte, during the spring tides, very little water, in fact only 30 cm. It was then that the author took a picture of this octopus, which you see on the main photo of the article. He needed to get as close to the dome as possible to create this stunning effect.