2026 COMPETITION CATEGORIES

January – Best of 2025: Select your favorite underwater footage from 2025
February – Popping Up – In honor of Groundhog Day, composition with subject(s) popping up/out of a hole or from behind a barrier
March – Behavior – Different Species
April – New Beginnings – Composition that shows different species interacting in some way
May – Attention to Detail – Examples include tiny subjects, close-ups of large subjects, or other artistic intention that emphasize details
June – Sea Slugs – Any marine gastropod without a shell – Nudibranchs, Sea Hares, Sapsuckers, Headshield slugs, etc.
July – Big, Bright, and Sunny – Wide angle composition with prominent light
August – Shooting the Surface – Subject is on the surface (boat, swimmer, bird, etc.); footage shot from your choice of perspective. Examples include over/under, silhouettes, or similar
September – Leafy – Animals resembling vegetation (such as sponges, tunicates, anemones, pipefish, seahorses, sea dragons)
October – Spooky! – Open to your interpretation. Examples might be “dark and stormy” compositions or a scene that is scary for other reasons
November – Photoshopped – Creative editing/manipulation of footage using digital programs such as Photoshop. No restrictions. “Your entry must include your original underwater work somewhere in the composition. Anything else used must be royalty/copyright free.”