International Waters – Silver – “Big Stretch” by Sam Blount (USA)
There’s a lot happening beneath the ocean’s surface that most of us will never get the chance to see. From dolphins working together to hunt dinner to a tiny clingfish hitching a ride on a seadragon, the Underwater Awards Australasia 2026 captures some remarkable moments in marine life.
Now in its third year, the international competition celebrates underwater photography and filmmaking, with a particular focus on the Australasian region. Entrants competed in nine categories, with a “Best of Show” prize.
This year’s top honor went to Australian filmmaker Kat dos Remedios for Dragon, a short film documenting weedy seadragons in Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay. Dos Remedios filmed the animals throughout the 2025 breeding season, returning to the same location almost daily. The project took on additional significance as toxic algal blooms devastated weedy seadragon populations elsewhere along the Great Southern Reef.
The highlight came when dos Remedios encountered newly hatched seadragons in the wild for the first time. Those tiny animals ultimately became the heart of Dragon, which won both the Reels Showcase category and Best of Show.
The still photography winners offer an equally varied look at life underwater. Jake Wilton took Gold in the Australian category for Coastal Hunters, photographed at Ningaloo Reef. The image captures two bottlenose dolphins working together to corral a tightly packed school of parrotfish.
Wilton watched as the dolphins gradually tightened the school before taking turns feeding. “What initially appeared chaotic was remarkably organized,” he says, with each dolphin seemingly playing a role in keeping the fish together.
Jules Casey also photographed a rarely seen moment for Deadly Devotion, which earned Silver in the Australian category. Her image shows a female southern blue-ringed octopus carrying a clutch of eggs outside her den. Females carrying eggs typically stay hidden, making the encounter particularly unusual. Casey observed the octopus in the same exposed location for at least two hours before returning later to find that she had moved.
For Dragon Clinger, Sydney category winner Talia Greis focused on something much smaller. Her photograph shows a clingfish attached to the back of a weedy seadragon. Look closely, and there’s another passenger: a tiny parasite riding on the clingfish itself. Greis only noticed the unusual arrangement because she had stopped to examine the seadragon’s intricate patterns at close range.
The awards also highlight photographers documenting both the challenges facing marine ecosystems and efforts to restore them. Maryline Renault’s At the Heart of Coral Restoration, which took Silver in the Conservation category, was photographed at the Biorock coral restoration project in Pemuteran, Indonesia. Her image places a diver among structures designed to encourage coral growth, offering a more hopeful view of what marine conservation can look like.
Far from the warm waters of Indonesia and Australia, Sam Blount had a very different encounter in Antarctica. His photograph Big Stretch, the Silver winner in International Waters, captures a leopard seal lunging toward him with its jaws open. Blount says photographing one of the animals had long been a goal of his, though the close encounter certainly made for a more dramatic portrait than he might have expected.
Together, the photographs show just how varied underwater photography can be. Some depend on patience and close observation, while others capture a split-second encounter that would be difficult to repeat. Whether it’s an octopus guarding her eggs or dolphins coordinating a hunt, each image gives us a glimpse of behavior that usually happens well outside our view.
This year’s awards also benefit marine conservation. Half of the proceeds from finalist prints sold at the exhibition will go to the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Take 3 for the Sea, while the winning photographs will appear in the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s 2028 calendar.
Scroll down to see more standout images from the Underwater Awards Australasia 2026.
The Underwater Awards Australasia 2026 celebrates the beauty of underwater life through film and photography.
Conservation – Silver – “At the Heart of Coral Restoration” by Maryline Renault (Singapore)
This year’s Best of Show honor went to Australian filmmaker Kat dos Remedios for Dragon, a short film documenting weedy seadragons in Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay.
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The winners capture a variety of marine life, from hunting seals to a blue-ringed octopus clutching her eggs.
Australian – Gold – “Coastal Hunters” by Jake Wilton (Australia)
Australian – Silver – “Deadly Devotion” by Jules Casey (Australia)
Together, the photographs show just how varied underwater photography can be.
Sydney – Gold – “Dragon Clinger” by Talia Greis (Australia)
Sydney – Silver – “Teeth of the Reef” by Daniel Sly (Australia)
Conservation – Gold – “Trapped in the Blue” by Annika Dahlberg (Australia)
International Waters – Honorable Mention – “Strike a Pose” by Patrick Uramowski (Australia)
Tough TG – Gold – “Anemone Tenant” by Qian Kun (China)
Smartphone/Action Cam – Silver – “Blenny at Sunset” by Enrico Somogyi (Germany)
Smartphone/Action Cam – Gold – “Halimeda Ghostpipe” by Enrico Somogyi (Germany)
International Waters – Gold – “Crowded Spotlight” by Simone Caprodossi (Australia)
Only Water – Gold – “The Best of Both Worlds” by Tom Healy (Australia)
Only Water – Silver – “Stab” by Kosta Giannopoulos (Australia)
