Photography award has a “smoking” fish and seahorse mask

A smoky lizard and a masked seahorse are among the stars of the Ocean Photography Awards, which annually award the best images of marine life.

But despite the quality of the flicks, the highlight of 2021 was the difficulties animals faced with the increasing pollution in the oceans. One of the most commented photos was the image of a lizard fish with a cigarette filter stuck to its mouth, written by Canadian Stephen Kovacs, who took the photo off the coast of Florida (USA).

The jury taken by Nicholas Samaras last year, outside of Stratoni, Greece, also praised the seahorse’s flick attached to a protective mask, which is common among humans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both works received glowing mentions in the “Conservation” category, one of seven categories for the award, which also included an unprecedented section for female photographers.

The main prize, awarded two weeks ago, went to Australian Amy Jean, who scored a green turtle. Britain’s Daily Mail reported that the judges’ decision was “unanimous” among “thousands of entries” received.

Jan said he was snorkeling in the water.She watched Ningaloo, a reef in northwest Australia, when a colleague warned her of the animal’s presence, armed with a camera to make the confrontation eternal.

The tortoise was at least 10 meters away from the photographer, who, when he went down to find it, ended up getting the winning picture scenario, with the tortoise surrounded by small fish.

The Englishman Henley Spires took second place in the general classification, scoring the albatross, a seabird, diving off the coast of Scotland.

“The mission of the Ocean Photography Awards is simple: to highlight the beauty of the ocean and the threats it faces,” declared the judges in their announcement of the winners.

In addition to winning the Silver Trophy, another photograph of a tower is mentioned in the conservation category, showing an olive turtle wrapped in a fishing net. The animal was swimming in the Baja California Sur region of Mexico.

To make the award official, the organizers opened an exhibition with iconic photographs on the banks of the Thames in the UK, which will be available to visit until 17 October.