Maternal instincts transcend all species, be it on land or below water, and at this year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year Awards (Ocean POTY), there were two particularly intimate scenes of a mother’s love for her young, both gaining commendation from the contest judges.
Underwater photographer Andrea Michelutti created both images in Anilao, a diving hotspot in the Philippines.
The first is of a harlequin crab resting at the entrance of a tubular sponge, carefully tending her cluster of orange eggs. The second is of a shrimp carrying a clutch of eggs, sheltering within coral branches.
Andrea Michelutti's gear and settings
- Sony RX100 VII (compact)
- Lens: 24-200mm f/2.8-4.5 (built-in)
- Marelux housing
- Marelux Apollo S strobes
- Focal Length: 29.10 mm (in 35mm: 79 mm)
- Exposure: 1/1000 sec; / f/11 / ISO 100
On shooting the harlequin crab, Michelutti told the contest organizers: “Capturing this rare moment of maternal care required several dives at the same site, waiting for the crab to emerge.”
And when it finally did, the diver used a snoot light – a specialized tube or optical device attached to an underwater strobe or flash to concentrate the light beam.
According to Michelutti, this isolated the mother crab from the “busy reef,” revealing an “intimate glimpse of life” hidden within the sponge. Michelutti also used this snooting technique to photograph the shrimp.
Andrea Michelutti's gear and settings
- Sony RX100 VII (compact)
- Lens: 24-200mm f/2.8-4.5 (built-in)
- Marelux housing
- Marelux Apollo S strobes
- Focal Length: 22.50 mm (in 35mm: 61 mm)
- Exposure: ISO 64 / f/11, 1/1000 seconds
The photographer explained how, this time, he placed the snoot light behind the coral to create the “fiery glow” surrounding the eggs. At the same time, the diver used a front light to reveal details of the mother shrimp’s body, taking care not to disturb what he called its “fragile habitat.”
Both of these endearing scenes struck a chord with the Ocean POTY judges. The vibrant image of the shrimp transporting her young placed second in the “The Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds” category. And the image of the harlequin crab protecting her offspring was a finalist in the same category.
Mitsuna Kawai's blackwater portrait of a ribbonfish among salps won the "Ocean Unseen" category at this year’s contest. But the overall title of Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 went to Julien Anton for his paternal scene of a father seahorse with his offspring.
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