There’s so much beauty hiding in the underwater realm. But thanks to underwater photography, we get to take a peek at this fantastic world. Ocean Art “Safe Under the Sea” contest has just announced the 2020 winners, and they show us beautiful, mysterious, and even some sad stories from beneath the water surface.

The Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition is organized by the Underwater Photography Guide. Their “Safe Under the Sea” contest has been a way to bring people from around the world together for a number of reasons. First, they want photographers to dust off their old hard drives and submit the images to share the beauty of our oceans. But also, the aim of the contest is to help aid the WHO and CDC Foundation in their fight to improve the health of the planet and its people. The Underwater Photography Guide donated 25% of the proceeds from the competition to these two organizations, aimed at finding a cure for COVID-19.

Unlike the Ocean Art contest, the “Safe Under the Sea” is a smaller, mid-year competition. However, the selection of winning images has been no less powerful and impactful. After all, you can see for yourself and compare the photos with the 2018 and 2019 Ocean Art contest winners.

The contest has received thousands of entries from 79 countries, and judges had a difficult task of selecting the best of the best. The Best of Show winning image conveys a special message of hope for the future of our planet’s unique biodiversity. The photo titled “Releasing Hope” was captured by photographer Edwar Herreno. It shows marine biologist, Eduardo Espinosa, releasing a tagged hammerhead pup in order to study a unique shark nursery.

Other winning photos include dramatic, raw, funny, and sad underwater moments. There are some magnificent creatures, rare marine life behavior, stunning animal portraits, strange critters, even shipwrecks. The selected winners truly reflect just how diverse the underwater world is, and just how many different moments you can capture in that strange, beautiful world. Check out the rest of the winning images below, and you can find more details on Underwater Photography Guide’s website.