Monster wave surf image wins Ocean Photographer of the Year 2022

French Polynesia-based photographer, Ben Thouard, has been announced as the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2022.
Ben’s incredible image is beautifully composed and full of texture and action. It shows a surfer battling against
one of the heaviest waves in the world, Teahupo’o, which translates as ‘place of skulls’. Chosen from thousands of submissions from around the world, it was the unanimous winner.

The Ocean Photographer of the Year has a simple mission: to shine a light on the beauty of the ocean and the
threats it faces. Category winners include images of posing pods of pilot whales, humans exploring the farthest reaches of the ocean, and recovered reefs booming with biomass. Read on to see more of the winning images.

Second place goes to Katherine Lu for her beautiful image of a blanket octopus taken on a blackwater night dive. Third place goes to Brook Peterson for her captivating image of a diving cormorant amongst a school of fish that has formed to create the shape of a human face.

Several new categories have been added in 2022, including Ocean Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Ocean Fine Art Photographer of the Year and Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean. The Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year has been split into two categories: Hope and Impact.

Conservation Photographer of the Year (HOPE)

WINNER: Nicolas Remy, Australia
An aggregation of critically endangered grey nurse sharks of the coast of New South Wales.

Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year (IMPACT)

WINNER: Simon Lorenz, Sri Lanka
An Olive Ridley sea turtle entangled in a mass of ocean debris.

Adventure

WINNER: Tom St George, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
A cave diver surveys an underwater cave system, surrounded by gigantic formations that have taken millennia to form.

Female Fifty Fathoms Award 

Winner: Brooke Pyke, Western Australia

Fine Art Photographer of the Year

WINNER: Michael Spencer, United Kingdom
Waves break on a misty morning in Scarborough.

Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean

WINNER: Steve Woods, Dominica
A freediver interacts with a sperm whale amidst a cloud of Sargassum weed.

Ocean Wildlife Photographer of the Year 

WINNER: Rafael Fernandez Caballero, Spain
A pod of pilot whales pose for a family portrait.

Young Ocean Photographer of the Year 

WINNER: Ryuta Ogawa, Japan
A green turtle hatchling takes a breath before its first great journey.

This year will see the return of the month-long Tower Bridge exhibition, enjoyed by more than one million people in 2021. The free, open-air exhibition will be open to the public from tomorrow, October 5th to November 7th. The winning images and finalists can be seen on the website.