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This year, as part of its Ocean Commitment – an initiative encompassing all the brand’s efforts to help preserve the oceans – Blancpain reiterated its commitment to the Ocean Photographer of the Year competition, which rewards the most remarkable ocean photos.
To mark the occasion, Blancpain unveiled the name of this year’s grand prize winner and the winner of the Female Fifty Fathoms award, both selected from over 15,000 entries in all disciplines (underwater, on water and drone photography). Rafael Fernández Caballero has been named Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 for his image of a Bryde’s whale feeding on a bait ball.
Presented for the fourth consecutive year by Blancpain, the Female Fifty Fathoms Award encourages women to share their vision of the underwater world, acting as a vector of inspiration. Judged by the jury and a Blancpain delegation led by Marc A. Hayek, President & CEO, the candidates highlighted the beauty of our planet in a unique way. This year’s Female Fifty Fathoms Award went to Malaysian Ipah Uid Lynn.
The photographs honoured in this edition include dramatic wildlife encounters, such as a baitball being devoured from air and sea, out-of-place eels slithering over rocks at low tide, as well as an iridescent mahi mahi caught with a Other award-winning pictures included beautiful examples of our species’ connection with the ocean, from a boat crew hauling an impossibly large net out of the water, conservationists tending to coral nurseries to a freediver on their way into the depths of a blue hole. There were also reminders of our impact on the ocean, including an octopus sheltering in a plastic bag, a fin whale being hauled ashore for butchering, along with a gannet accidentally hanged after its unnatural nest became a noose.
The Ocean Photographer of the Year, presented by Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain, has a simple mission: to shine a light on the wonder and fragility of our blue planet and to celebrate the photographers giving it a voice. The competition is a cornerstone of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment, which unites all the brand’s efforts to protect the ocean. The programme is composed of three interconnected pillars: raising awareness of the ocean’s beauty, supporting scientific research on ecosystems and underwater phenomena, as well as taking concrete conservation actions such as helping to create marine protected areas around the world.
The first Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 exhibition will open at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney on 28 November, followed by several additional venues in early 2025.
October 03, 2024