From fluorescing sharks to a mega mola, this year’s entries in Scuba Diving® magazine’s 22nd annual “Through Your Lens” Photo Contest pushed underwater photography to new depths — and the winners have just been announced.
This year, Scuba Diving received 6,386 entries across five contest categories: Behavior, Compact Camera, Macro, Wide Angle and a new category for 2026, Shark & Ray, which celebrates the launch of the PADI AWARE Shark & Ray Census.
The winners were selected by a panel of pro photographers, including Brandon Cole, Katie Jonker and Alex Mustard.
Grand Prize Winner: Frogfish in Sponge
The overall Grand Prize image is by Ajiex Dharma in Batu Ringgit, Bali, Indonesia.
Dharma explains how he got the shot: “This image was taken at 17 meters (56 feet) deep on a black sand muck dive. Before I took the shot, I spent time observing the environment, where I discovered a tiny frogfish hidden away inside a sponge. With a clear vision in mind, I decided to use the sponge’s structure to outline the frame while snooting the subject to capture its true, vibrant colors.”
As the Grand Prize winner, Dharma is awarded a liveaboard trip aboard the Komodo Aggressor and a PADI x Cape Cali Eco-Parka.
Shark & Ray Category Winner
As mentioned, the editors of Scuba Diving added a Shark & Ray category to highlight these amazing creatures in tandem with the launch of the PADI AWARE Shark & Ray Census.
The first-place winner in this category is Josh Schellenberg.
“A small group of friends and I were in Baja photographing mako and blue sharks, and we specifically stayed out late hoping to capture the golden afternoon light piercing the surface. As golden hour arrived, we were surrounded by half a dozen blue sharks when a 2- to 3-foot (1-meter) juvenile mako appeared,” Schellenberg says. “Despite her size, she was fast, fearless and constantly on the move. She approached me head-on before turning sharply just inches from my camera, perfectly positioning herself against the golden rays.”
Schellenberg wins a liveaboard trip aboard the Explorer Ventures Caribbean Explorer II, plus a PADI x Cape Cali Rash Guard.
More Winning Images
Winners in the Behavior, Compact Camera, Macro and Wide Angle categories win prizes from sponsors including Aggressor Liveaboards, All Star Liveaboards, Cape Cali, Scubapro and Shearwater.
To see all of the winning photos, visit scubadiving.com.