Winners Gallery
Finalist Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Yuta Shigeno Japan
This photograph captures a male cardinalfish releasing the larvae he has been brooding inside his mouth. Although this species is common in Japanese waters, the image reveals a rarely noticed stage of its life cycle. The male carries and protects the developing eggs for around a week, eating little or nothing during this period. The larvae are released over several events, with the first release containing the largest number.
BEHIND THE LENS
Yuta Shigeno Japan
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- image taken while scuba diving
- Coastal walk-in
- Nikon Z8, NIKKOR Z 105mm lens, Nauticam housing, INON Z-330 strobes
- ISO500, F18, SS1/200
Yuta Shigeno is a Japan-based underwater photographer. A former banker, he now documents the beauty of the ocean and the lives within it, from familiar seas around Japan to the Arctic. His work has received awards in Japan and overseas, and through his photography, he shares the wonder of the underwater world and the changes facing our marine environment.
MORE IMAGES BY Yuta Shigeno
Conservation (Hope)Photographer of the Year
2026 Shikoku, Japan
Conservation (Hope)Photographer of the Year
2026 Kagoshima, Japan
