Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 VANMAC6 - Oceanographic

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Finalist Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean

Vanessa Torres Macho Tufi, Papua New Guinea

-9.079907 149.317777

Two children play outside their family home in the fjords of Tufi, Papua New Guinea, where daily life revolves around the water. These sheltered waterways are the community’s roads and meeting place, connecting villages by canoe and providing food and livelihoods. The image celebrates a relationship with water that is both practical and deeply rooted in culture.

BEHIND THE LENS

Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 VANMAC6

Vanessa Torres Macho Spain

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ABOUT THE IMAGE

  • Boat
  • Sony A7IV & Sigma 150-500mm
  • 200, 6.3, 1/200

Vanessa is an underwater and wildlife photographer with a passion for marine life, seascapes, shipwrecks, commercial and fashion photography. Over the past 19 years, she has travelled the world as a dive instructor before eventually settling in Sydney, where she now runs Aquatic Imaging Australia, an underwater photography business based in Bondi. Vanessa is an avid photographer, and when she´s not exploring Sydney’s local dive sites, she is usually travelling around Australia or overseas in search of the next incredible photographic opportunity. She´s been fortunate to experience some of the world’s most remarkable underwater destinations, including some of my favourites such as the Revillagigedo Islands, Egypt, the Galápagos, Fuvahmulah, Canada, and Spain, with many more still on the list.

IMAGES BY Vanessa Torres Macho

Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean

2023 Sydney, Australia

Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean 2023, VT

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