What's your photograph of the day 1097?

MERCHE LLOBERA - OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024

The hunt, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Philippines

Can men and women be friends?

RAFAEL FERNANDEZ CABALLERO - OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024

Baby plainfin midshipman fish

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Have you ever had your crush reject you, and then later you all dated and married?

Papua New Guinea's Conflict Islands

PIETRO FORMIS - OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024

A spotted eagle ray’s natural pattern is on as-if-by-designer display. “On one of my dives, this beautiful eagle ray caught my eye,” says Palomeque Gonzalez. “It swam calmly across the sandy bottom as it exposed its intricate back to us all. I was amazed that nature inspires the most revolutionary creations. Its skin pattern reminds me of a binary code.”

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SHANE GROSS - OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024

With their dramatic marine wildlife encounters, gorgeous examples of our species’ connection with the ocean and stark reminders of the human impact on our seas, underwater photographers bring the best of our ocean planet to life and highlight the many perils it faces.

A spotted eagle ray’s natural pattern

Are rich people harder workers than poor people as a whole?

Above, pelicans in the sea off Mexico’s Baja California Sur dive from the sky in a well-coordinated dance. Underwater, mahi-mahi dart around at top speed, chasing sardines. “The surface was murky from the feast, with sea lions also joining the action,” says Merche Llobera. “Whales passed by, but none went for the sardines.”

Conservation efforts have transformed former poachers into protectors. Amid this success swims the rare leucistic green sea turtle.

“The (African pompano) juveniles look very different from adults,” says Pietro Formis. “They are very thin, with a silver body and very long appendages on their fins. Usually, the filaments stretch out behind them, making it almost impossible to capture the whole fish. The long fins created circles around the silver fish, looking like neon lights at night.”’

How is it, in the USA, a country with 334 million people, the choice of President comes down to two aged men, one of whom is a liar as well as a criminal, one who appears to be on his way to dementia. Surely a democratic country can put up better?

A marine iguana sits on a rock. Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

JAKE WILTON - OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024

A 7 Image Gallery of Marine Photos Shortlisted For The Ocean Photographer Of The Year Contest. Just Awesome! Do Enjoy 🤍

How does Arab culture and values differ from western culture and values?

‘“As we gaze at this marine iguana, with half of its body submerged in the waters and the other half emerging above the surface, it's impossible not to marvel at the uniqueness of these creatures,” says Fernandez Caballero. “Without a doubt, marine iguanas are living dinosaurs, a testament to the countless stages and transformations life on our planet has undergone.”

MIZAEL PALOMEQUE GONZALEZ, MEXICO - OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024

Baby Plainfin Midshipman fish, still attached to their yolk sacs, are hidden under a rock in an intertidal zone in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

What factors may contribute to intelligent individuals identifying as Republican rather than Democrat in the United States today?

A crested sculpin hides in the stinging tentacles of a lion’s mane jellyfish. “The tentacles provide both shelter and food for the cryptic fish in Alaska’s Prince William Sound,” explains Shane Gross.

A crested sculpin hiding

Portfolio Award, British Columbia, Canada

How old is planet Earth? Is it 4.5 billion years old or 6,000 years old?

SHANE GROSS - OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024