Most photography competitions treat "conservation" as one broad, catch-all category. This one doesn't. Oceanographic magazine, in partnership with Swiss watchmaker Blancpain, has split the Conservation category into two parallel sub-categories for their Ocean Photographer of the Year awards: Hope and Impact. You don't get to look at just one side.
This year's finalist list spans categories from Adventure, Human Connection, and Ocean Unseen to the two conservation sub-categories mentioned above. The finalists come from a wide range of regions, with names including Ben Yavar, Suliman Alatiqi, Eduardo Santana de Vega, Tamara Stubbs, Kawai Mitsuna, Gergo Rugli, Leighton Lum, Daniel Taylor, Ariel Gliboff, Abdulaziz Al Saleh, Andrea Michelutti, Stefan Mathers, and Lin Chen, covering all of the categories listed above.
Will Harrison, founder and director of the competition, doesn't mince words about this batch of images: these photos capture more than just what's beneath the surface—they bring to the surface the stories our planet most needs to have heard. He also noted that the more pressure the ocean faces, the more crucial it becomes to have photographers willing to bear witness. That's not marketing polish—it's how he genuinely sees the role of this award.
Deliberately splitting Conservation into Hope and Impact forces both judges and viewers to confront two emotions at once: on one side, images of restoration and hope; on the other, evidence of destruction and its cost. This categorization is itself an editorial choice—rather than letting good news and bad news blend into an undifferentiated pile that people process separately, the organizers chose to place them side by side, refusing to let either one get diluted.
Winners will be announced in September. The full list of finalist works can be viewed in the online gallery on the competition's official website, with further updates to follow via Instagram.
