Winners Gallery
3rd place Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Andrey Shpatak Russia
44°20'12.0"N
135°50'12.0"E
A giant Pacific octopus in the shallows. “In late autumn, when the water temperature drops sharply to 5 degrees Celsius, giant Pacific octopuses rush to shallow water," says Shpatak. "Nobody really knows why yet but it has been happening for many years. Here, I met such an octopus at a shallow depth near the thickets of Zostera algae and I managed to take several pictures of this beautiful giant.”
BEHIND THE LENS
Andrey Shpatak Russia
ABOUT THE IMAGE
- Sunny
- Site accessed with boat
- Taken while scuba diving
- Morning
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.
