It’s decision time. Will you fall in with the march of the penguins, or get cutesy with the candy crab? The choice is yours. Either way, one thing is certain: you’ll be diving headfirst into a veritable feast for the eyes as Oceanographic – the team behind Ocean Photographer of the Year – launches its Ocean Photographer of the Year Edition 2025 book.

For the first time in the competition’s history, that choice is being placed in readers’ hands. Two special editions of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 book will be released, each offering a gateway to nearly 120 breathtaking images from this year’s winners and finalists.

Fans and photographers alike are invited to pick their allegiance by choosing their preferred cover sleeve. Will it be Jade Hoksbergen’s pink candy crab – a vivid portrait of a bright-coloured crustacean no larger than a button? Or will you side with Romain Barats’ torpedoing gentoo penguins, captured rocketing through the icy waters of Antarctica?

“Seeing my photograph of this pink candy crab featured on the cover sleeve of this year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year book feels really amazing,” says Jade Hoksbergen, a finalist in this year’s Fine Art category. “Any of the photographs in this book deserve to be on the cover, of course, but I’m delighted that mine has been chosen.

“The star of this image – the pink candy crab – is an incredible critter. It’s so small, yet it has the extraordinary ability to camouflage itself to match the colour of its host coral. I’m really glad I get to share this image with the world.”

Bound in a luxury black fabric and embossed lettering, the 2025 book is available to purchase now via the Oceanographic website. Inside, it features standout ocean photography from all of this year’s winners and finalists, including the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year: a striking image by Yury Ivanov showing two amphipods standing in perfect symmetry.

Among the winning and highly commended images is Romain Barats’ dynamic photograph of torpedoing gentoo penguins, taken in the icy waters of Antarctica. A first-time finalist in the competition, Barats saw three of his images recognised this year.

“I am very pleased to see my image as the cover of this year’s book,” says Barats. “Gentoo penguins are clumsy on land, but as soon as they enter the water, they become like torpedoes. As fast as they are, they must remain extremely vigilant – because their deadliest predator, the leopard seal, is never far away.

“Capturing this image meant being in zero-degree water with them. But when you witness a scene like this, you quickly forget about the cold. Having this moment featured on the cover of the 2025 book is a massive honour, particularly when any single image inside it could so easily have taken that place.”

Both versions of the 2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year book are available to purchase online now, leaving only one question unanswered: are you Team PINK or are you Team PENGUIN?

Click here to order your Ocean Photographer of the Year Edition 2025 book.