Winners Gallery
1st place Female Fifty Fathoms Award
Jialing Cai Anilao, Philippines
A fish captures a jellyfish. “It potentially grabbed it for chemical defence by taking advantage of the toxins in its tentacles,” says Cai. “While the fish was holding the jelly in its mouth, it looked like it was blowing a balloon.”
All of Jialing's Female Fifty Fathoms Award images
Click on image to view details
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
A larval pufferfish, roughly the size of a thumb nail. “Although adult pufferfish are typically found around coral reefs, they begin life as plankton, drifting in the open ocean before eventually settling to the seafloor,” says Cai.
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
Crabs, though best known as bottom-dwelling creatures, begin life as plankton, undergoing several dramatic metamorphic stages before reaching their familiar form. “This image captures a juvenile crab in the act of molting, shedding its old exoskeleton much like slipping off a sweater,” says Cai. “If you look closely, you can spot differences in shape and structure between the transparent molt and the crab’s newly emerged body.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
Almost ethereal in its translucency, a juvenile wunderpus octopus is surrounded by a variety of small zooplankton, such as larval shrimps, crabs and worms.
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
A larval deep-sea fish, no larger than a thumb knuckle, makes a swift turn mid-water. “Its translucent body reveals a delicate scaffolding of bones which appears almost ghostlike in the darkness,” explains Cai. “A tail trails behind in graceful motion. Though tiny in size, it carries the presence of a dragon.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
A baby octopus hitches a ride on a leaf. “It appeared like it was sailing alone across the vast darkness of the open ocean,” remembers Cai.
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
Two tiny fish navigate the open ocean at night beneath the fragile shelter of a drifting piece of candy wrapper. “Both of them were no bigger than my thumb nail,” remembers Cai. “The wrapper was an unintended refuge in a world increasingly shaped by human debris.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
A larval shrimp stretches out its claws as if in prayer to a god. “Its translucent body reveals its bright red digestive organ,” explains Cai. “However, in the ocean, red is the first colour to vanish, making this internal organ nearly invisible to others like ink in the dark.”
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
An immortal jellyfish with its tentacles relaxed. “It slowly turned around and delineated the shape of a storm, resulting in this beautiful photograph,” says Cai.
BEHIND THE LENS
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
A baby octopus is being digested inside a jellyfish. “For many small zooplankton, the jellyfish’s gut becomes their final resting place. But for others, such as certain fish species, the jellyfish’s tentacles offer refuge against predators.”
BEHIND THE LENS
Jialing Cai China
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Night dive
- Site accessed by boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Favourite dive site
IMAGES BY Jialing Cai
Reconnect. Immerse yourself. Be inspired.
Enjoy the vibrancy, beauty and impact of each year's finalist photography, celebrated in our Ocean Photographer of the Year coffee table book collection.
