Rafael Fernández Caballero has been named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 for his mesmerising image of a rare Bryde’s whale about to devour a heart-shaped baitball, while Ipah Uid Lynn has been awarded Female Fifty Fathoms Award
More than 15,000 images were submitted from around the world by planet’s leading ocean photographers with these coastal, drone, and underwater images combining to reveal the wonder of the ocean, and the many plights it faces.
Caballero’s image of a Bryde’s whale feeding on a baitball was chosen from more than 15,000 ocean images across all disciplines, including underwater, surf and drone. This year’s awarded photographs include dramatic wildlife encounters, such as a baitball being devoured from air and sea, out-of-place eels slithering over rocks at low tide, and an iridescent mahi mahi caught with a mouthful; beautiful examples of our species’ connection with the ocean, from a boat crew hauling an impossibly large net out of the water, conservationists tending to coral nurseries, and a freediver on their way into the depths of a blue hole; and stark reminders of our impact on the ocean, including an octopus sheltering in a plastic bag, a fin whale being hauled ashore for butchering, and a gannet accidentally hanged after its unnatural nest became a noose.
The recipient of this year’s Female Fifty Fathoms Award is Malaysian photographer Ipah Uid Lynn. The Female Fifty Fathoms Award was created in 2021 by Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain to celebrate pioneering and boundary-pushing women in ocean photography. Unlike other categories, the recipient of this award is nominated by her peers and judged by the Ocean Photographer of the Year jury and a Blancpain delegation led by Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO.
The Ocean Photographer of the Year, presented by Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain, has a simple mission: to shine a light on the wonder and fragility of our blue planet, and to celebrate the photographers giving it a voice. The competition is a cornerstone of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment, which unites all the brand’s efforts to protect the ocean. The programme is composed of three interconnected pillars: raising awareness of the ocean’s beauty, supporting scientific research on ecosystems and underwater phenomena, and taking concrete conservation actions, such as helping to create marine protected areas around the world.
The first Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 exhibition will open at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, on November 28, followed by several additional venues in early 2025.
