Rockpool Rookies Crowned Overall Winner of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026

 

Australian photographer Matty Smith has secured the top honor at the prestigious Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026 contest with his stunning image, Rockpool Rookies. The photograph, which captures a pair of southern elephant seal pups in a shallow rockpool on the Falkland Islands, was selected as the overall winner from a massive pool of more than 7,900 entries submitted by photographers from around the world. Smith’s work was praised by the judging panel for its technical mastery and its ability to tell a poignant story of survival and nature’s resilience.

The winning shot was captured on Sea Lion Island during a moment Smith describes as the defining moment of his trip. He spent days observing dozens of seal pups that had recently been weaned and abandoned by their mothers a natural stage in their life cycle where they must teach themselves how to swim and navigate the ocean. On his first evening at the site, the sky ignited with color, allowing Smith to frame the curious pups against a vibrant sunset just before the light vanished.

To achieve the unique Under over perspective seen in the photo, Smith utilized a specialized camera dome that he engineered himself. This custom equipment allowed him to perfectly balance the natural lighting on the pups' wet fur above the surface with the clear details of the rockpool below. Dr. Alex Mustard, the chair of the judging panel, noted that the image is not only beautiful but historically significant, as southern elephant seals were once hunted to the brink of extinction for their blubber but have since made a remarkable recovery.

The 2026 competition saw a 17% increase in entries compared to the previous year, reflecting a growing global interest in marine photography. While Smith took the grand prize, the contest also celebrated other notable winners, including American photographer Sam Blount, who was named the Up & Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year for a dramatic shot of a leopard seal, and Malaysian photographer Khaichuin Sim, who won the Marine Conservation category for an image highlighting the pilot whale hunt in the Faroe Islands.

Based in the United Kingdom, the Underwater Photographer of the Year awards have been a fixture of the diving and photography community since 1965. This year’s ceremony, held in London, showcased the immense diversity of the underwater world, ranging from tiny macro subjects to massive shipwrecks. Smith’s victory marks another high point for Australian nature photography on the international stage, bringing a hopeful and beautiful glimpse of the Falklands' wild shores to a global audience.