Underwater Photography-Top 10 pictures of 2017-18.The winners of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2018

"In the lagoon of Mayotte, during spring low tides, there is very little water on the flats. Only 30 cm in fact. That's when I took this picture. I had to get as close as possible to the dome to create this effect. The 14 mm is an ultra wide angle lens with very good close focus which gives this effect of great size. The octopus appears larger, and the height of water also. Also, I didn't need flash because I had lots of natural light." - Gabriel Barathieu

"Kukulkan Cenote on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula forms part of the Chac Mool system and is noted for the spectacular light effects as the sun penetrates the darkness. I left my strobes behind for the natural light shot I wanted and positioned myself in the shadows of the cavern. Moving my eye around the viewfinder, I could see that the rock outline of the cavern around me made for a pleasing symmetry and I adjusted my position to balance the frame. The light show flickered on and off as the sun was periodically covered by cloud and as it reappeared, I beckoned to my buddy and dive guide, Andrea Costanza of ProDive, to edge into the illumination of some of the stronger beams, completing the composition. My journey from diver to underwater photographer has brought many amazing photographic opportunities and I feel humbled and privileged that this image has achieved such recognition." - Nick Blake

"I was lucky to join an expedition aboard MV ONDINA covering Raja Ampat North, Central & South. The South is one of my favorite places because only few boats go there. We went to dive to the seamount 'Karang Paradise' where the biodiversity is something unique; endless coral fields, large congregations of fish and big pelagic travellers passing by. At the end of one of the dives, I found this enormous coral field full of different groups of fish. I wanted to show in my pictures the motion (I've been taking motion pictures with very slow shutter speed for long time), so I set up my camera on top of a rock (I didn't have my tripod), then after a few minutes of being completely still, this big congregation of big-eye jacks came and completely surrounded me. A magic moment!" - Edwar Herreño

"This photo was taken at sunset during a St. John’s safari in Egypt, last March. Almost at the end of the dive we came across a smack of jellyfish swimming close to the surface. I could not resist photographing this beautiful creature with the sunset in the background. After a few shots using strobes to enhance the shape of the jellyfish I got the photo I was satisfied with."- Patryk Pinski
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"Towards the end of the dive I suddenly saw a nice anemone with clownfish. After some minutes I focused on the clownfish. I took several pictures through the aluminium tube that mounted on my port so I obtained a round mirror effect" - Luc Rooman

"This USAAF B-17G Flying Fortress crash landed on approach to the island of Vis, Croatia after being hit by anti-aircraft fire during a bombing raid over Europe in 1944, which killed the co-pilot Ernest Vienneau. The surviving crew escaped in dinghies. This spectacular wreck of a famous World War 2 bomber is in remarkable condition and lies at 72 metres. I only had one dive on the wreck and the depth gave me very limited time in which to work so good communication between myself and my buddy, Andi Marovic was essential: I thoroughly briefed him on what I was trying to achieve before the dive so he could also visualize the image I was aiming for. I wanted to capture an image that showed the true scale of the aircraft so I shot with natural light and color balanced the image during post processing." - Steve Jones

"I travelled to French Polynesia for a once-in-a-life moment of playing with a whale calf and I decided to devote a whole week to this. One morning, the magic happened. A mother and a calf were sleeping quietly at 15 meters. When they feel safe and unafraid, they can really come close to you. And this six-tonne, six-meter calf was amazingly playful. Strobes were not allowed but you don't need them. The contrast of the deep blue and the sunlight were enough. The difficulty was to be at the right place according to the sunlight and to get a gracious pose from the calf: another photographer on the other side, the whale posing, a few bubbles out of his blow-hole, a short eye contact, Click! Fixed in my memory forever." - Christophe Lapeze

"On his visit to the Galapagos islands, Charles Darwin was revolted by the animals' appearance, writing: "The black lava rocks on the beach are frequented by large, disgusting clumsy lizards. They are as black as the porous rocks over which they crawl and seek their prey from the sea. I call them 'imps of darkness'. They assuredly well-become the land they inhabit." The marine iguana are all but monsters. Endemic to the Galapagos, it's a rare privilege to share a moment underwater with this animal now considered an endangered species." - Damien Mauric

"During a diving trip to Tenerife, I came across these green turtles. It was early morning and the sunbeams pierced the surface. I adjusted the setting of my camera and I waited for the turtles to come close enough to trigger my camera. After a little while, the turtles were circling around us and it was a great opportunity to photograph them." - Greg Lecoeur

"In Los Islotes there is one of the most important sealion kindergartens in Mexico. I went there looking for pictures of sea lions eating on the big sardine banks. I was not lucky, because there were no sardines, but I found many interesting things, such as the one I show in this photo, a juvenile sea lion playing with starfish. I was surprised to see the stars passing each other or even as they approached the camera with them in the mouth, to leave them and then to catch them again. My intention was to capture the moment when sea lions caught a star with their mouths, to capture a dynamic image. I spent about four hours in the water, I came and went to the area where there were more juveniles, until finally getting closer and little by little and with respect I was able to capture this photo." - Francis Pérez

The winners of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2018
A panoramic photograph of British World War Two military vehicles deep inside a shipwreck sees German photographer Tobias Friedrich named as Underwater Photographer of the Year 2018.

Friedrich's photograph, taken off the coast of Ras Mohammed in Egypt, triumphed over 5,000 underwater pictures entered by photographers from across the world.

'Cycle War' was taken in Egypt and shows Norton 16H motorbikes loaded in the SS Thistlegorm, with soldierfish schooling above.

"I've had this image in mind for a few years, but it is impossible to capture in one photo, because there is not space inside the wreck to photograph this scene in a single frame," explains Friedrich. "My solution was take a series of pictures and stitch them together as a panorama."

Chair of the judges, Peter Rowlands, added: "This is a quite extraordinary shot which must be viewed as large as possible. The artistic skill is in visualising such an image, and the photographic talent is in achieving it."

Grant Thomas won the title of British Underwater Photographer of the Year. His image of swans, titled 'Love Birds', was taken in Scotland's Loch Lomond.

Waiting in the waters of the lake, Thomas's patience paid off. "The swans were searching for food. I just had to wait for that perfect moment of synchronicity."