Winners Gallery

“Born during the great mobula aggregations of spring, juvenile Munk's devil rays remain in the Sea of Cortez long after their parents have left, using the shallow bays of Espiritu Santo Island as a nursery,” explains Spiers. “By autumn, the water is clear, a bonus for underwater photography but also signifying less food for the filter feeding rays. At night we hung a green light from the back of our boat, as plankton gathered around it the mobula rays gratefully swooped in for a microscopic buffet. The rays seem to fly through the water as they pursue their dinner. Entranced by their grace, I used a two-second exposure to capture their movements which, to my eye, felt like an aquatic ballet.”