Humpback Whale Bond Wins 2025 Underwater Photographer of the Year

Spanish photographer Alvaro Herrero's touching image of a mother humpback whale and her calf in French Polynesia tops global competition celebrating underwater photography.

Alvaro Herrero's photograph, titled 'Radiant Bond,' captures a mother humpback whale guiding her newborn calf to the surface, symbolizing maternal care and oceanic fragility.
The 2025 competition received over 6,750 entries across 13 categories, showcasing diverse underwater scenes from around the world.
German photographer Robert Marc Lehmann won the Marine Conservation category with a poignant image of a tiger shark being carried ashore, highlighting the plight of sharks killed annually by humans.
Kuwaiti photographer Abdulaziz Al Saleh took the Portrait category with a unique underwater view of camels drinking in the desert after weeks of patient preparation.
Other notable winners include Shunsuke Nakano's dramatic capture of two male Asian sheepshead wrasse fighting and David Alpert's 'The Curious Seal,' which earned him British Underwater Photographer of the Year.