News

PADI’s Scuba Diving magazine has announced the results of its 2022 Through Your Lens photo competition. The contest featured four image categories—Wide Angle, Macro, Behavior, and Compact Camera—and the competition also awards a grand prize. This time around Boz Johnson’s beautifully executed reflection shot of a flying fish in the waters of Anilao in the Philippines beat more than 2,500 other entries to clinch the best image overall.

The first place image in the Wide Angle category went to Alex Dawson for his amazing capture of whale carcasses in the icy waters of Eastern Greenland. Yury Ivanov clinched the top spot in Macro for his lovely butterfly sea slug perched on algae in Papua New Guinea. Salvatore Ianniello photographed the first place winner in the Behavior category, a stunning photo of crabs riding on a barrel jellyfish in Italy. And finally, Miguel Ramirez came out tops in Compact Camera for another breathtaking behavior shot: a tiny emperor shrimp hitching a ride on a big Spanish dancer nudibranch, shot during a night dive off Réunion Island.

Congratulations to all the photographers for their well-deserved wins. Check out the amazing winning images below.
 

PRESS RELEASE

PADI AND SCUBA DIVING MAGAZINE’S ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST CAPTURES THE DIZZYING DIVERSITY OF OUR BLUE PLANET
Contest Winners Announced

Together, PADI and Scuba Diving magazine has announced the winners of their 18th annual Through Your Lens photo contest, which drew in nearly 2,600 entries from around the world.

“The submissions for our 2022 Through Your Lens photo contest have exceeded our expectations,” says Andy Leisner, Chief Consumer Officer of PADI Worldwide, the publisher of Scuba Diving magazine. “The imagery in this annual collection of underwater photography is outstanding, unique, and captures what a very small portion of the global population has had the opportunity to experience: the other stunning 70% of our watery planet.”

This year’s grand prize winner is Boz Johnson, whose striking nighttime image of a flying fish gliding just below the surface highlights the magic of the underwater world and the beauty worth protecting.

Through Your Lens is the first photo Johnson ever entered, and he took home $1,000 from Scuba Diving magazine and a liveaboard trip aboard the BVI Aggressor from Aggressor Adventures.

The prize winning images in the four contest categories macro, wide angle, behavior, and compact camera include: ice diving a whale carcass, a perch eating another perch, a moray eel opening its mouth for a teeth cleaning from a bluestreak wrasse, a diver exploring the shallows of a Mexican cenote on a sunny day, a whale shark at night, an octopus mother tending her eggs, and a black and white shrimp. (credit: Boz Johnson, Grand Prize Winner)

The first place winner for each of the specified categories also received the week-long Aggressor Adventures liveaboard trip, the second place winners a SCUBAPRO regulator, and the third place winners a SeaLife light or underwater smartphone housing accessory. Select winners will also be given the opportunity to have their photos featured on PADI certification cards.

“We are on a mission to encourage more people to experience, explore and protect our shared blue planet, with the 2022 Through Your Lens images playing a powerful role in sparking positive ocean change,” continues Leisner.
 

Alex Dawson, First Place, Wide Angle
 

Yury Ivanov, First Place, Macro
 

Salvatore Ianniello, First Place, Behavior
 

Miguel Ramirez, First Place, Compact Camera