UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition

Published 5 years agoon March 10, 2021

The UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition is open and free! The competition seeks to inspire the creation of imagery capturing the beauty, the challenges and the importance of the ocean and humankind’s relation to it, hoping to contribute to actions to preserve this vital resource.

The photo competition has six thematic categories open for submissions:

Ocean Life & Livelihood
Above Water Seascapes
Underwater Seascapes
Digital Ocean Photo Art
Faces of the Sea
Oceanic Discoveries

Ellen Cuylaerts, UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition Curator said: “This is a call-out to all image-makers to enter the eighth edition of the United Nations World Oceans Day Photo Competition. Who could have imagined a year ago that many parts of the world would still be experiencing restrictions? Many of us are longing for ocean time, encounters that amaze us, humbling experiences we might cherish more than before. The absence starts aching. So what better way to prepare for new, maybe local, adventures and images than diving into your image library and entering the competition while contemplating how we can make a difference and contribute to conservation and preservation of ocean life and livelihood?

In the 2021 edition, we are keeping our classic categories “Above Water Seascapes” and “Underwater Seascapes”; every year, the images entered create a dream value that connects every soul to the cradle of life. “Digital Ocean Photo Art” gives you the chance to be creative with imagination and expression without boundaries within opportunities or processing! The theme of this year’s UN World Oceans Day, “Ocean Life & Livelihood,” and the other new categories, “Faces of the Sea” and “Oceanic Discoveries,” are wide open to the photographer’s interpretation and artistic view. Show us what these words mean to you and give our panel of esteemed judges a hard time choosing this year’s winners!

Just like last year, we are asking every participant to agree to our charter of ethics in underwater photography (see below). We hope that this charter will be an example for many competitions around the world, inviting photographers not just to enjoy the oceans but to lead by example and be true ocean ambassadors.”

Winning images will be recognized at the United Nations on June 8th during the United Nations’ event marking World Oceans Day 2021.

All entries must be submitted by April 30th, 2021 at 12 midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST).

For more information on the rules, judges, and how to enter visit the dedicated Dive Photo Guide website by clicking here.

Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown

Nick and Caroline (Frogfish Photography) are a married couple of conservation driven underwater photo-journalists and authors. Both have honours degrees from Manchester University, in Environmental Biology and Biology respectively, with Nick being a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, a former high school science teacher with a DipEd in Teaching Studies. Caroline has an MSc in Animal Behaviour specializing in Caribbean Ecology. They are multiple award-winning photographers and along with 4 published books, feature regularly in the diving, wildlife and international press They are the Underwater Photography and Deputy Editors at Scubaverse and Dive Travel Adventures. Winners of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Photo-journalist of the Year for a feature on Shark Diving in The Bahamas, and they have been placed in every year they have entered. Nick and Caroline regularly use their free time to visit schools, both in the UK and on their travels, to discuss the important issues of marine conservation, sharks and plastic pollution. They are ambassadors for Sharks4Kids and founders of SeaStraw. They are Dive Ambassadors for The Islands of The Bahamas and are supported by Mares, Paralenz, Nauticam and Olympus. To find out more visit www.frogfishphotography.com