Dive deep into the ocean with these stunning underwater photographs

An aggregation of mobula rays in clear waters off Baja California Sur, Mexico. (Image credit: The Ocean Photographer of the Year: Nadia Aly)

Oceanographic Magazine has just unveiled the winning and shortlisted images in its annual Ocean Photographer of the Year awards. The contest had over 3,000 images submitted into six categories, but it was Canadian photographer Nadia Aly who won this year's grand title, being named Ocean Photographer of the Year for her underwater shot of mobula rays. 

Awards judge (and prolific conservationist and underwater photographer) Cristina Mittermeier found Nadia's photograph to be "perfectly exposed, compellingly dramatic and deeply intriguing. I know from experience that this image was not easy to create. Nadia Aly’s acknowledgement as the Ocean Photographer of the Year is a testament not only to the sheer power and uniqueness of her imagery, but to her journey as a photographer as well."

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Lauren Scott
Freelance contributor/former Managing Editor

Lauren is a writer, reviewer, and photographer with ten years of experience in the camera industry. She's the former Managing Editor of Digital Camera World, and previously served as Editor of Digital Photographer magazine, Technique editor for PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, and Deputy Editor of our sister publication, Digital Camera Magazine. An experienced journalist and freelance photographer, Lauren also has bylines at Tech Radar, Space.com, Canon Europe, PCGamesN, T3, Stuff, and British Airways' in-flight magazine (among others). When she's not testing gear for DCW, she's probably in the kitchen testing yet another new curry recipe or walking in the Cotswolds with her Flat-coated Retriever.