Photograph courtesy Kyle McBurnie, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
Spotted at Cortes Bank near San Diego, California, a harbor seal (Phoco vitulina) swims through an underwater kelp forest.
Captured by Kyle McBurnie, the photo is the overall winner of the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science's Underwater Photography Contest, which recognizes amateur photography. (See the best underwater pictures of 2012.)
Started in 2005, the contest has grown in popularity, with over 700 entries submitted this year, according to university scientist and contest judge Jiangang Luo.
"All the pictures we got were large, and high quality," said Luo. "It was a really tough job to narrow it down to a few."
The contest is open to any photography enthusiast, as long as they earn less than 20 percent of their income taking pictures. This year, entries came from all over the globe, with submissions from 23 countries. Categories include macro, wide angle, fish or marine animal portrait, and student work. (Get National Geographic's underwater-photography tips.)
Luo said that he and his fellow judges—photographer and university lecturer Myron Wang and underwater photographer Nicole Wang—unanimously agreed on the seal photo because it stood out from the others.
"The organizers would flash the photos in front of us," he explained, "and when that one showed up it caught all of our attentions."
—Lara Sorokanich
Published June 9, 2013
Photograph courtesy Marcelle DiFrancesco, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
A greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) poses for a photo near Malapascua Island in the Philippines.
This photogenic creature earned a second-place prize for Marcelle DiFrancesco in the fish or marine portrait category. (Watch video: Shark vs. Octopus.)
Published June 9, 2013
Photograph courtesy Beth Watson, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
This anemone shrimp was ready for its closeup when Beth Watson snapped its photo in Puerto Galera, the Philippines.
The vibrant picture came in first place for the macro category.
Published June 9, 2013
Photograph courtesy Laura Rock, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
A Goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) is seen during an annual spawning event in Jupiter, Florida. The image, taken by Laura Rock, won the University of Miami student category.
Published June 9, 2013
Photograph courtesy Judy Townsend, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
This third-place winner in the portrait category features a male dusky jawfish storing his clutch of eggs in what seems like an unusual place—his mouth.
The parental moment was captured by Judy Townsend in Riviera Beach, Florida.
Published June 9, 2013
Photograph courtesy Douglas Good, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
Douglas Good caught three creatures in one shot with his second-place macro picture of a red emperor shrimp (Periclimenes imperator) standing on two nudibranchs (Risbecia tryoni) in Papua New Guinea. (See more nudibranch pictures.)
The two species have a symbiotic relationship, in which the shrimp hitch a free ride as the passing nudibranchs make their way across the ocean.
Published June 9, 2013
Photograph courtesy Steven Kovacs, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
A juvenile lionfish seems to pose for this first-place photograph taken by Steven Kovacs during a night dive in Roatan, Honduras.
Published June 9, 2013
Photograph courtesy Joseph Tepper, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
A photograph of a pod of spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) off Hawaii scored Joseph Tepper second place in the wide angle category.
Published June 9, 2013
Photograph courtesy Alex Tattersall, RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest
Thousands of fish called silversides (Pterois volitans) swim away from a lionfish on the hunt in Egypt's Red Sea. The photograph, by Alex Tattersall, won first place in the wide angle category.
Published June 9, 2013
If anyone else is curious, I browsed the web to match last year's winning photo with a species... It's such an odd creature, I had to know what it is.
It's a type of sea slug. It seems that there are quite a few impressive variations. This particular one is the Chelidonura Hirundinina (Leech Headshield Slug). Indigenous to the Caribbean and eat flatworms and... (reportedly) each other!
Never thought a slug could look so dapper...
Pterois volitans is the scientific name for the lionfish, not the silversides (Confusing as written above).
it's not as gentle as you think, (the colors maybe) but this one's extremely venomous, not from its mouth but each of every spine on its back and on its fins, not sure but this one i think is what they called the LION KING, :D the LION FISH...
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Love seeing what evolution has created in "the other world" below. Outstanding work by some talented amateur photographers! Thank you National Geographic for engaging these talented people in your coverage of the world.
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Love seeing what God has created in "the other world" below. Outstanding work by some talented amateur photographers! Thank you National Geographic for engaging these talented people in your coverage of the world.
Using ice cores, geochemistry, tree rings, and ancient texts, scientists discover which volcano erupted in the 13th century with worldwide effects.
For the first time, astronomers can forecast cloudy skies on a distant exoplanet.
The extinct animal's face structure could help explain how vertebrates, including people, evolved our distinctive look.
NG's new Change the Course campaign launches.
Future of Fish is helping fishermen improve their bottom line while better managing stocks for the future.
The Change Reaction blog investigates in California.
