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2013 Underwater Photography Contest Finalists

By Scuba Diving Partner | Updated On January 30, 2017
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2013 Underwater Photography Contest Finalists

The 2013 Underwater Photography Contest has come to a close, and the Scuba Diving team had their work cut out for them in choosing from nearly 700 incredible photos from our readers.

After hours upon hours spent poring over the outstanding submissions, here are our 45 finalists. If your photo is featured in this gallery, congratulations are in order. This year had some of the best submissions yet, and it was no easy task to narrow it down this far.

*(Captions courtesy of photographers.)

During a shore dive on Bonaire, I encountered this beautiful purple-tip anemone. On closer inspection, I saw three shrimp jockeying for position; this guy was the winner.

James Kashner

This bird was fascinated by its reflection in the dome port. Taken in the northern Sea of Cortez, Mexico.

J. Gregory Sherman

This shot was taken below a photographer shooting a school of barracuda in Papua New Guinea.

Mark Fuller

A peacock mantis shrimp with eggs taken in Ambon, Indonesia.

Goos Van Der Heide

Mature green turtles spend most of their time in shallow, coastal waters with lush seagrass beds. Adults frequent inshore bays, lagoons and shoals with lush seagrass meadows. Entire generations often migrate between one pair of feeding and nesting areas. On the coast of Tenerife (Canary Islands), we have three green turtles. I devoted much of my time to observing their different behaviors and photographed those moments.

Montse Grillo

This photo of an octopus in a clam shell was taken in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, at a depth of 15 meters with a snoot.

Alan Lo

Pictured is a male cardinalfish "intent" on hatching his eggs. Taken in Malapascua, Philippines.

Marcello Di Francesco

In the north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, basaltic lava creates underwater formations like this one.

Francis Perez

As I came across this diver in Iceland's Silfra Rift, I thought to myself, "This is what exploration looks like."

Sarosh Jacob

A free diver swimming through the canyon in Dahab, Egypt.

Filip Staes

A snooted starfish and diver above in Eilat, Israel.

Mark Fuller

Bright yellow tube sponges were the highlight of this shallow reef off of the coast of Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman.

Michael Zeigler

Late in the afternoon, after most divers have packed up and gone home, the entrance to the Kukulkan Cenote system is bathed in light beams from the sinking sun, further enhancing the natural beauty of the cavern system. Taken in Kukulkan, Puerto Aventuras, Mexico.

Karen Doody

The Portuguese Man O' War lives at the surface of the ocean in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Montse Grillo

A diver is crossing the "desert" on the way to the reef (Tori's, Bonaire).

William Goodwin

A free diver takes time to contemplate at the bow of the USS Kittiwake. Nothing was staged; he did what he felt, and I tried to capture his state of mind. Taken in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.

Ellen Cuylaerts

Bullheads can be seen with eggs every year in winter at Lake Grevelingen, the Netherlands.

Luc Rooman

Small clownfish with an isopod in its mouth. Taken in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia.

Els Van Den Borre

A tiny hermit crab is looking out of his tiny hole and began to wave hello as I took the picture of him. Taken in Moalboal, Philippines.

Jacqueline Jongenelen

Gorgeous emperor shrimp. Taken off the northeast coast of Taiwan.

Chia Chi Chang

Twilight shot in Fiji of a beautiful zebra anemone.

Mike Southard

This photo of a squid was taken during a safety stop on a night dive in the Maldives.

Fabio Strazzi

A macro shot of a traveler inside a jellyfish in Oosterschelde, Holland.

Luc Rooman

Morelet's crocodiles live in the cenotes and lagoons of the Mayan jungle; this specimen was among water lilies inside a cenote. Taken at Carwash Cenote, Mexico.

Luis Javier Sandoval

Macro photograph of a crinoid shrimp in the Philippines.

Fabio Strazzi

A tree growing in a shallow-water mangrove. Taken in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

Hamid Rad

A lemon shark opens wide for the camera in Tiger Beach, Bahamas.

Zach Ransom

Beautiful oceanic manta over Magic Mountain, where reef and oceanic mantas come together. This manta posed for a split second then continued on its way. Taken in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

Aleksandra Bartnicka

Beautiful sunbeams at Jackfish Alley in the morning. Taken at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Pietro Formis

Reflection of pilot whales and surface on a magic day in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Blue ocean with crystal water gave three dimensions.

Eduardo Acevedo

Whale sharks arrive in Roca Partida, Mexico's Socorro Islands, in November, May and June. When they are there, they curiously swim around divers.

David Valencia

To get this shot, I had to be in the water very early to take advantage of the sunrise. I had very little time, but the sea turtles came and I was able to get the photo. Taken in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Francis Perez

A mother and baby humpback whale hover motionless, resting together in Roca Partida, Mexico's Socorro Islands.

David Valencia

Goby on whip coral, shot with Canon PowerShot S100 camera with bug-eye lens, DS51 strobe. Taken in the Red Sea.

Amir Stern

Two mantas soar across a background of snorkelers' dive lights in Kona, Hawaii.

Jeremy Kozman

I was in Tonga where humpback whales migrate to mate and give birth. We found two adult whales courting; they would swim around each other and pirouette in the ocean. Suddenly, one of them ascended vertically in front of me and stayed in place, clearly looking at me. Taken in Tonga.

Vanessa Mignon

Spring is the best season to shoot nudibranchs in the Mediterranean. Here, a white Flabellina (endemic species) during spawning. Taken in Argentario, Italy.

Marcello Di Francesco

Shrimp cleaning a moray eel's mouth in Bacoli, Italy.

Salvatore Ianniello

During winter, sailfish gather in the waters north of Cancun, Mexico, to round up sardines. The sailfish display amazing speed as they chase the fleeing sardines and slash their bills sideways in the baitball to snag their prey.

Rodrigo Friscione

At the end of my dive, I was down 80 feet on White Hill Reef in Destin, Florida, on the bottom under a coral formation, when I noticed the frogfish. What a surprise to me when I saw two of them together.

Mary R. Hewett

These shoals of mackerel are a common sight on dives, and I was determined to capture them feeding with their mouths open. Taken in Marsa Shagra House Reef, Egypt.

Charlotte Sams

Close up of a conch's eye on Lighthouse Reef, Grand Cayman.

Jamie Holdorf

I saw this pregnant ringed pipefish at around 10 meters underwater. She kept moving and sometimes turned her body over; I saw these beautiful eggs on her back and was so lucky to get this photo. Taken in Kenting, Taiwan.

Yen-Yi Lee

Akumal Bay in Mexico is a great feeding ground for green sea turtles, and I like to go at sunset to get this range of colors.

Luis Javier Sandoval

I was coming up from a deep dive and had to get this shot. I was a little scared of the waves rolling in, but I went for it. This was taken in about 12 feet of water with a Canon 7D and Tokina 10-17 with 2 YS-D1 Sea & Sea strobes in San Benedicto, Socorro Islands, Mexico.

Craig Dietrich

The 2013 Underwater Photography Contest has come to a close, and the Scuba Diving team had their work cut out for them in choosing from nearly 700 incredible photos from our readers.

After hours upon hours spent poring over the outstanding submissions, here are our 45 finalists. If your photo is featured in this gallery, congratulations are in order. This year had some of the best submissions yet, and it was no easy task to narrow it down this far.

*(Captions courtesy of photographers.)