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12 Underwater Photos That Show The Submerged World Is Magical

Damon Dahlen
Updated

Photographers from around the world competed for the best underwater photo — and we are submerged in the results.

The 2018 Underwater Photographer of the Year awards were announced this week, encompassing categories from Behavior to Wrecks to Macro. See the winners from each category below.

Category: Wide Angle

<strong>Winner: "Humpback whale spy hopping"</strong>
Winner: "Humpback whale spy hopping"

Category: Macro

<strong>Winner: "Seahorse Density"</strong>
Winner: "Seahorse Density"

Category: Wrecks

<strong>Winner: "CYCLE-WAR"</strong>
Winner: "CYCLE-WAR"

Category: Behavior

<strong>Winner: "The Fisherman"</strong>
Winner: "The Fisherman"

Category: Portrait

<strong>Winner: "A sand tiger shark surrounded by tiny bait fish"</strong>
Winner: "A sand tiger shark surrounded by tiny bait fish"

Category: Black & White

<strong>Winner: "Crocodile reflections"</strong>
Winner: "Crocodile reflections"

Category: Compact

<strong>Winner: 'Dancing with the giants"</strong>
Winner: 'Dancing with the giants"

Category: Up & Coming

<strong>Winner: "ROAR"</strong>
Winner: "ROAR"

Category: British Waters Wide Angle

<strong>Winner: "Love Birds"</strong>
Winner: "Love Birds"

Category: British Waters Macro

<strong>Winner: "Battle of the Tompots"</strong>
Winner: "Battle of the Tompots"

Category: British Waters Compact

<strong>Winner: "Scratchy Seal"</strong>
Winner: "Scratchy Seal"

Bonus: Most Promising British Underwater Photographer

<strong>"How many pike?"</strong>
"How many pike?"

You can check out images of the runners up for each category at the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition website.

Also on HuffPost

Category: Motion

<strong>Winner:&nbsp;Camilo Diaz from Colombia<br /></strong>The photographer captured a crucial goal-scoring moment in an underwater rugby match.<strong><br /></strong>
Winner: Camilo Diaz from Colombia
The photographer captured a crucial goal-scoring moment in an underwater rugby match.

Category: Architecture

<strong>Winner: Tim Cornbill&nbsp;from United Kingdom<br /></strong>The photo features architecture in Berlin.
Winner: Tim Cornbill from United Kingdom
The photo features architecture in Berlin.

Category: Wildlife

<strong>Winner: Alessandra Meniconzi from Switzerland<br /></strong>A&nbsp;stunning wildlife shot of flamingos in Walvis Bay, Namibia.
Winner: Alessandra Meniconzi from Switzerland
A stunning wildlife shot of flamingos in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

Category: Nature

<strong>Winner: Hiroshi Tanita&nbsp;from Japan</strong><br />Tanita caught the ice blue and white of winter.
Winner: Hiroshi Tanita from Japan
Tanita caught the ice blue and white of winter.

Finalist

Photo by Jelena Janković from Serbia.
Photo by Jelena Janković from Serbia.

Finalist

Photo by Lester Koh Meng Hua from&nbsp;Singapore.
Photo by Lester Koh Meng Hua from Singapore.

Category: Portraits

<strong>Winner: Alexander Vinogradov from Russian Federation<br /></strong>A simple portrait of a young girl.
Winner: Alexander Vinogradov from Russian Federation
A simple portrait of a young girl.

Category: Street Photography

<strong>Winner: Constantinos Sofikitis from Greece</strong><br />A black and white shot of some creepiness on the street.
Winner: Constantinos Sofikitis from Greece
A black and white shot of some creepiness on the street.

Category: Enhanced

<strong>Winner: Lise Johansson from Denmark<br /></strong>The artist uses a subtle palette of color,&nbsp;
Winner: Lise Johansson from Denmark
The artist uses a subtle palette of color, 

Category: Culture

<strong>Winner: Jianguo Gong from China</strong><br />Scale is used to stunning effect to capture more than 1300 people practicing Tai-Chi in China.<strong><br /></strong>
Winner: Jianguo Gong from China
Scale is used to stunning effect to capture more than 1300 people practicing Tai-Chi in China.

Category: Still Life

<strong>Winner: Sergey Dibtsev from Russian Federation<br /></strong>A surreal still life.
Winner: Sergey Dibtsev from Russian Federation
A surreal still life.

Category: Travel

<strong>Winner: Ralph Gr&auml;f from Germany<br /></strong>A gorgeous yet understated color palette helped this photo win.
Winner: Ralph Gräf from Germany
A gorgeous yet understated color palette helped this photo win.

Finalist

Photo by&nbsp;Zarni Myo Win from Myanmar.
Photo by Zarni Myo Win from Myanmar.

Finalist

Photo by John Tao from Taiwan.
Photo by John Tao from Taiwan.

Finalist

Photo by Hendrik M&auml;ndla from Estonia.
Photo by Hendrik Mändla from Estonia.

Finalist

Photo by Jonatan Banista from Panama.
Photo by Jonatan Banista from Panama.

Finalist

Photo by&nbsp;Mustafa Jindi from&nbsp;United Arab Emirates.
Photo by Mustafa Jindi from United Arab Emirates.

Finalist

Photo by Homare Hamada from Japan.
Photo by Homare Hamada from Japan.

Finalist

Photo by Kala Madriz from&nbsp;Venezuela.
Photo by Kala Madriz from Venezuela.

Finalist

Photo by Mohammad Amir Hamja from&nbsp;Bangladesh.
Photo by Mohammad Amir Hamja from Bangladesh.

Finalist

Photo by Khalid Alsabat from Saudi Arabia.
Photo by Khalid Alsabat from Saudi Arabia.

Finalist

Photo by&nbsp;Ale&scaron; Krivec from&nbsp;Slovenia.
Photo by Aleš Krivec from Slovenia.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.