Blancpain, the Swiss watchmaker behind the Fifty Fathoms is widely regarded as the world’s first modern diver’s watch. Launched in 1953, the brand has spent more than 60 years building on that heritage through the Blancpain Ocean Commitment with the initiative to bring people from marine scientists and conservationists to the ocean photography community with an aim of protecting the ocean through combining awareness, research and direct conservation action.

Running back roughly two decades ago, it has served as a backing for more than 40 scientific expeditions worldwide – from Gombessa dives in Antarctica and the Mediterranean to reef and shark research across French Polynesia, the Philippines and beyond. Its support has contributed to the protection of over 4.7 million km of ocean across 24 marine protected areas.

Underwater photography is one of the three pillars the Ocean Commitment runs alongside expedition and conservation projects, with the main one being Ocean Photographer of the Year – co-organised with Oceanographic magazine. It is open to amateur and professional photographers worldwide, the annual competition asks entrants to submit their most impactful images to a judging panel of photography experts, curators and editors – with a goal of showing both the beauty of the ocean and the threats it faces.

The results for Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 have just been announced, drawing from more than 15,000 entries submitted by ocean photographers across the world. This year’s winning images move from the seabed to the surface, covering everything from intimate wildlife behaviour to the pressures facing the ocean today.

Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026

Julien Anton, a French photographer has been named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 for his portrait of a male seahorse swimming alongside two juveniles off Tahiti and Moorea. With seahorses, the male species carries and births the young and the image – first named winner of the Ocean Wildlife category before being elevated to the overall prize, was shot after what Anton described as countless hours searching with no guarantee of success. He credited the local residents, naturalists and fishermen whose knowledge made this sighting possible.

Female Fifty Fathoms Award

British photographer Jenny Stock has been recognised with this year’s Female Fifty Fathom Awards – created in 2021 by Oceanographic and Blancpain, this award celebrates pioneering women in ocean photography and is unique among the competition’s categories in that its recipient is nominated by fellow photographers before being judged by a panel that includes Laurent Ballesta and a Blancpain delegation led by President and CEO Marc A. Hayek.

Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds Category

Introduced for the first time this year, Ocean Unseen: Hidden worlds award Mitsuna Kawai, a Japan-based Divemaster with a passion for underwater photography, as the winner for her blackwater image of a ribbonfish photographed off Japan. The category is dedicated to the ocean’s smallest and least-visible inhabitants.

Human Connection and Adventure Category

These categories explore the species’ enduring relationship with the sea. The Human Connection category was won by Rui Duarte, a nature and wildlife photographer based in Portugal, whose image shows volunteers working to push a stranded pilot whale back out to sea and in Adventure, the Australian photographer Gergo Rugli’s work captures dolphins cresting a wave alongside surfers at Tamarama Beach in Sydney.

From left to right: Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean Winner Rui Duarte, Adventure Photographer of the Year Winner Gergo Rugli. Images courtesy of Rui Duarte, Gergo Rugli & Blancpain.

Conservation Impact category

James Ferrara, a photographer based in South Florida won the Conservation Impact Category with an image of a whale shark encircled by snorkellers and divers, highlighting the pressure of overtourism. Overfishing, bycatch, plastic pollution and the killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands were also featured among the category’s finalists. The counter category, Conversation Hope was won by France based photographer Thomas Pavy for an image of scientific divers using laser-calibrated video photogrammetry during a population survey. 

From left to right: Conservation (Impact) Photographer Of The Year Winner James Ferrara, Conservation (Hope) Photographer of the Year Winner Thomas Pavy. Images courtesy of James Ferrara, Thomas Pavy & Blancpain.

Ocean Fine Arts Category

Matty Smith, based in Australia is an internationally acclaimed ocean and underwater photographer won the Fine Arts Photographer category. His winning image features black-and-white portrait of a tawny nurse shark flanked by remoras in formation.

Ocean Photographer of the Year founder and director Will Harrison said the judging panel fell silent when Anton’s winning image first appeared on screen, calling it “ocean photography at its most powerful: intimate, urgent and impossible to ignore.” 

CEO Marc A. Hayek of Blancpain noted that the competition remains a cornerstone of the brand’s Ocean Commitment programme, which spans awareness, scientific research and conservation action including the creation of marine protected areas.

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