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Tender Ocean Portrait Wins Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026

by Hella Cliques
September 10, 2026

French photographer Julien Anton has been named the overall winner of the prestigious Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 competition, presented by Oceanographic magazine and Blancpain. Announced on September 9, 2026, Anton’s winning image—a breathtaking and rare portrait capturing a male seahorse alongside two newly born juveniles in the shallow, seaweed-filled waters of Moorea, French Polynesia—stunned judges with its emotional depth and quiet intimacy. Chosen from over 15,000 entries submitted by marine photographers around the globe, the photograph initially took top honors in the Ocean Wildlife category before being elevated to the overall prize. Competition director Will Harrison noted that the judging panel fell silent upon seeing the photograph, praising it as an image that "demands reflection".

Other top honors of the night included UK photographer Jenny Stock, who received the Female Fifty Fathoms Award for her standout portfolio of ocean imagery, as well as category recognitions highlighting both the fragile beauty and pressing environmental challenges of marine life worldwide.

A sealion pup poses for a picture in Jurian Bay, Western Australia
Credit: Jenny Stock
Dolphins ride the waves alongside surfers at Tamarama Beach, Sydney
Credit: GERGO RUGLI
Breathtaking ribbonfish surrounded by a swarm of salps in the waters of Osezaki, Japan won The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds category
Credit: Mitsuna Kawai
A surfer races through the barrel of Teahupoʻo, French Polynesia, winning second place in the Adventure photographer category
Credit: © Ben Thouard
Decorated warbonnet poking out of a glass bottle
Credit: Jenny Stock
A whale shark surrounded by divers and snorkelers in the Maldives
Credit: James Ferrara
A Cape Verde community comes together to re-float stranded short-finned pilot whales
Credit: RUI DUARTE
A hammerhead shark photographed in French Polynesia
Credit: Thomas Pavy
A tawny nurse shark glides through the warm waters of the Maldives
Credit: MATTY SMITH
A free diver descending into the depths of Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas
Credit: Daan Verhoeven
A diver alone in the centre of a huge school of sardines
Credit: Ben Yávar