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Forbes
24-07-2025
- General
- Forbes
12 Beautiful Winners Of The U.N. World Oceans Photo Competition
First Place Winner, Wonder: What Sustains Us category, Mo'orea, French Polynesia. Bearing the theme 'Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us,' the winning images of the 2025 12th annual United Nations World Oceans Photo Competition are an ode to our ocean's wonders and a call to not lose sight of them when determining their fate. The winning images of this photo contest were selected by an expert panel of judges from thousands of photos entered by professional and amateur photographers across four categories: Big and Small Underwater Faces, Underwater Seascapes, Above Water Seascapes and the new category of Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us inspired by the 2025 UN World Oceans Day theme. From strikingly amazing, weird and surprising animals to unreal seascapes, the winners offer a complex view of our oceans. The photo above – 1st place winner in the Wonder: What Sustains Us category and taken in 2024 in Mo'orea, French Polynesia -- captures the eye of a humpback whale named Sweet Girl, just days before her tragic death. Four days after American photographer Rachel Moore captured this intimate moment, she was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship. Her death serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the 20,000 whales lost to ship strikes every year. 'We are using her story to advocate for stronger protections, petitioning for stricter speed laws around Tahiti and Mo'orea during whale season," said Moore. "I hope Sweet Girl's legacy will spark real change to protect these incredible animals and prevent further senseless loss.' The contest is organized by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, DivePhotoGuide (DPG), Oceanic Global, and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. The UN Photo Competition for World Oceans Day is free and open to photographers and artists from around the world who are invited 'to celebrate the ocean's essential wonder - from all the wonders it consists of to the wonder it ignites,' according to the organizers. 'The ocean's wonder is what draws us in and drives our desire to protect it. Wonder is the foundation of scientific knowledge, the allure behind exploration, the curiosity that drives innovation, and the seed of traditional wisdom.' World Ocean's Photo Competition First Place Winners 1st Place, Big and Small Underwater Faces category, Sea of Japan. This photo of a Japanese warbonnet was captured in the Sea of Japan, about 50 miles southwest of Vladivostok, Russia. 'I found the ornate fish at a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet), under the stern of a shipwreck,' Andre Nosik explains. 'This species does not appear to be afraid of divers. On the contrary, it seems to enjoy the attention,and it even tried to sit on the dome port of my camera.' 1st Place, Underwater Seascapes category. Raja Ampat, Indonesia. 'This year,' Dani Escayola explains, 'I had the incredible opportunity to visit a jellyfish lake during a live-aboard trip around southern Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Being surrounded by millions of jellyfish, which have evolved to lose their stinging ability due to the absence of predators, was one of the most breathtaking experiences I've ever had.' 1st Place, Above Water Seascapes category. Shark Bay, western Australia. A serene lake lies cradled by arid dunes, where a gentle stream breathes life into the heart of this extraordinary creation. Captured from an airplane on a remote stretch of coastline near Shark Bay in western Australia. Second Place Winners Of Ocean's Photo Competition 2nd Place, Wonder Sustaining What Sustains Us, Indonesia's Lembeh Strait. This juvenile pinnate batfish was photographed with a slow shutter speed, a 'snooted' light (to control the light beam for the shot) and deliberate camera panning to create a sense of motion. Juvenile pinnate batfish are known for their striking black bodies outlined in vibrant orange, a coloration they lose within a few months as they mature. I encountered this restless subject in the tropical waters of Indonesia's Lembeh Strait. 2nd Place, Big and Small Underwater Facess. Anilao, Philippines. On one of his many blackwater dives in Anilao, Philippines, Giacomo Marchine spotted something moving erratically at a depth of around 65 feet. It was about 10 to 15 centimeters in size, a rare blanket octopus and as he approached, it opened up its beautiful blanket, revealing a multicolored mantle. 'I felt truly privileged to have captured this fascinating deep-sea cephalopod," Marchione said.' Among the many unique characteristics of this fascinating deep-sea cephalopod, it exhibits some of the most extreme sexual size-dimorphism in nature, with females reaching up to two meters in length, while males typically remain about 2.4 cm. 2nd Place, Underwater Seascapes. This shot captures a school of rays resting at a cleaning station in Mauritius, where strong currents once attracted them regularly. "Some rays grew accustomed to divers, allowing close encounters like this," Gerald Rambert says. 'Sadly, after the severe bleaching that the reefs suffered last year, such gatherings have become rare, and we may not witness this again at the same spot.' 2nd Place, Above Water Seascapes category. Hermaness National Nature Reserve, Scotland. Northern gannets soar above the dramatic cliffs of Scotland's Hermaness National Nature Reserve, their sleek white bodies and black-tipped wings slicing through the Shetland winds. These seabirds, the largest in the North Atlantic, are renowned for their striking plunge-dives, reaching speeds up to 60 miles per hour as they hunt for fish beneath the waves. The cliffs of Hermaness provide ideal nesting sites, with updrafts aiding their take-off and landing. Each spring, thousands return to this rugged coastline, forming one of the U.K.'s most significant gannet colonies. A Shark Sanctuary And Other Photo Competition Winners 3rd Place, Wonder Sustaining What Sustains Us category. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba. Shot in Cuba's Jardines de la Reina, a protected shark sanctuary, this image captures a Caribbean reef shark weaving through a group of silky sharks near the surface. Using a slow shutter and strobes as the shark pivoted sharply, the motion blurred into a wave-like arc across its head, lit by the golden hues of sunset. The abundance and behavior of sharks here is a living symbol of what protected oceans can look like. 3rd place, Big and Small Underwater Faces category, Antarctic Peninsula. Trips to the Antarctic Peninsula always yield amazing encounters with leopard seals for Lars Von Ritter. 'Boldly approaching me and baring his teeth, this individual was keen to point out that this part of Antarctica was his territory," he said. "The picture was shot at dusk, resulting in the rather moody atmosphere.' 3rd Place, Underwater Seascapes category. 'La Rapadura,' northern coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands. 'La Rapadura' is a natural hidden treasure on the northern coast of Tenerife in the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands. Only discovered in 1996, it is one of the most astonishing underwater landscapes in the world, consistently ranking among the planet's best dive sites. These towering columns of basalt are the result of volcanic processes that occurred between 500,000 and a million years ago. The formation was created when a basaltic lava flow reached the ocean where, upon cooling and solidifying, it contracted, creating natural structures often compared to the pipes of church organs. Located in a region where marine life has been impacted by once-common illegal fishing practices, this stunning natural monument has both geological and ecological value, and scientists and underwater photographers are advocating for its protection. 3rd Place, Above Water Seascapes category, Paradise Harbour, Antarctic Peninsula. For Andrey Nosik, Paradise Harbour is one of the most beautiful places on the Antarctic Peninsula: 'When I visited, the sea was extremely calm, and I could witness a wonderfully clear reflection of the Suárez Glacier (aka Petzval Glacier) in the water.' All the winners and finalists of the 2025 UN Photo Competition for World Oceans Day, as well as from previous years, can be viewed via the virtual gallery. MORE FROM FORBES
Forbes
19-04-2025
- General
- Forbes
4 Unforgettable Photos That Remind Us Why Extinction Feels Personal — From The Nature Photography Contest 2024
Across continents and species, these photos from the 2024 edition of The Nature Photography Contest ... More reveal how human hands now shape the survival of creatures that once thrived without us. Human-wildlife interactions take on many shapes, much like the evolving form of this school of fish in Nurturing the Living, Diem Cao's stunning submission to The Nature Photography Contest 2024. The purpose of the contest, which invites photographers from all around the world, is to celebrate nature in all its vibrancy. This year, though, it saved a special spot for those quiet, powerful moments when human and animal lives intersect. Beyond Diem Cao's work, the aptly named Sharing the Planet category includes a few other standout photographs, each a gentle reminder that life on Earth is, at its core, a shared endeavor. 'Sweet Girl' was a juvenile humpback whale from French Polynesia who met a tragic death when she was ... More struck by a speeding vessel, prompting calls to regulate traffic around the region's islands. In Sina Ritter's category winner, Sweet Girl's Essence, a juvenile humpback whale named Sweet Girl approaches diver Rachel Moore with calm familiarity in an interaction that, while remarkable, wasn't rare for this individual. Known locally for her unusually gentle and inquisitive nature, Sweet Girl was a familiar presence off the coasts of Tahiti and Moorea. Just days after this photograph was taken, she was killed by a fast-moving vessel with her jaw broken and her head nearly severed. The collision occurred in a high-traffic corridor commonly used by ferries traveling at speeds up to six times the recommended limit during whale season. Her story is heartbreakingly common. It is estimated that four to five humpback whales are killed by vessel strikes between summer and fall, while five to six humpback whales meet the same fate between winter and spring in U.S. waters alone, according to a July 2021 study published in Frontiers in Marine Science. Sweet Girl's death prompted renewed calls for regulatory changes, including a push to lower boat speeds to under 12 knots within a two-kilometer buffer zone of French Polynesia's islands. Vessel strikes continue to be a cause for concern for humpback whales globally. For juvenile whales in particular, who spend more time near the surface and often explore coastal shallows, the risk is acute and growing. While southern white rhinos are numbered much higher than their northern counterparts, they're still ... More being poached at alarming rates, putting their status in grave peril. In Richard de Gouveia's Led to Safety, a female southern white rhino is guided away through the scrublands of South Africa's Marataba Camps. It's a brief moment of calm in what is, by necessity, a tightly orchestrated operation. The rhino is being relocated for collaring, a procedure that enables rangers to monitor her movements in real-time using AI-assisted tracking systems. This intervention is part of a growing set of strategies aimed at protecting rhinos from poachers. Between 2013 and 2021 alone, Kruger National Park lost 60% of its white rhino population. In 2024, South Africa still recorded 420 rhino killings, down from previous years, but still averaging more than one animal killed per day. While dehorning, relocations and collaring have shown localized success, they are no silver bullets. Poaching networks operate with military-grade precision, fueled by a transnational black market where rhino horn can fetch up to $400,000 per kilogram, a price tag that makes gold look cheap. This image is a reminder that every rhino saved today comes at considerable cost, coordination and urgency. Mini Winnie is one among just over a hundred rescued western chimpanzees at Tacugama Chimpanzee ... More Sanctuary, a center in Sierra Leone that cares for chimpanzees orphaned by poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. At first glance, Mini Winnie captures a tender exchange between species. A caregiver feeds a young chimpanzee at Sierra Leone's Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. But this quiet and humane moment belies the broader urgency of its context. Mini Winnie is a western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), a subspecies whose numbers have plummeted by more than 80% in the last two decades. The study found a 6% annual decline, driven by poaching, habitat loss and weak law enforcement. Once ranging across West Africa, the western chimpanzee is now extinct in at least three countries and confined to fragmented strongholds in places like Guinea and Sierra Leone. Sanctuaries like Tacugama increasingly becoming the final stronghold for survival. Founded in 1995, Tacugama today cares for over 100 rescued chimpanzees, many of them orphans from the illegal wildlife trade or victims of bushmeat poaching. Rehabilitation at Tacugama involves five phases, transitioning chimps from quarantine to semi-wild habitats within Sierra Leone's Western Area Peninsula National Park. Photos like Mini Winnie reveal the infrastructure of survival for western chimpanzees quietly operating behind the scenes, one orphaned life at a time. Vultures at Jatayu vulture restaurant are cared for and provided a safe space to feed on cattle and ... More other animals that die of old age, without the risk of accidental diclofenac consumption. In Alain Schroeder's frame, a vulture lies cradled in a burlap sling, its head gently supported by gloved hands, as conservationists in hazmat suits perform a routine health check. Taken at Nepal's Jatayu vulture restaurant, the image captures the clinical, careful and deeply human reality of modern vulture conservation. The bird is being weighed, monitored and protected in a program that has become a model for vulture recovery worldwide. In the 1990s and early 2000s, South Asia's vultures suffered the fastest population collapse ever recorded in the avian world. Species like the white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) declined by more than 99.9% due to a veterinary drug called diclofenac, used widely in livestock and lethally toxic to vultures consuming treated carcasses. Nepal banned diclofenac in 2006. That same year, conservationists and local communities established Jatayu — named after a mythical vulture from Hindu lore — as the world's first community-managed vulture restaurant. Here, farmers bring old cattle to live out their final days. Once they die naturally, their drug-free remains are laid out for vultures in monitored 'safe feeding zones.' By 2017, nesting sites in Pithauli, where Jatayu operates, had jumped from fewer than 20 to over 70. Tracked vultures from the site have flown as far as Pakistan, proof that the reach of recovery is spreading. Do photos like these inspire you to form deeper connections with the world around you? Take a 2-minute quiz to see where you stand on the Connectedness to Nature Scale.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jason Momoa Matched His Scrunchie to Girlfriend Adria Arjona's Lavender Dress
No one looks more in love than Jason Momoa and Adria Arjona. The couple stepped out for a rare red-carpet date night in London this Sunday to attend the world premiere of Momoa's A Minecraft Movie, and while they were at it, coordinated in purple looks. Arjona looked incredible in a silky lavender dress with frilly sleeves and a plunging neckline adorned with ribbon-like details that traveled all the way down to the hem. The Hit Man star accompanied the dress with pointy powder-purple heels and a gold necklace featuring a diamond bird pendant sitting atop a large amethyst. Her hair was down in boho beach waves, and she wore minimal makeup, including a barely-there berry lip. Momoa matched her freak in a cool, deep-violet velvet suit. Always one to make fearless fashion choices, the Aquaman star styled his vibrant suit with a crisp white dress shirt, burgundy leather boots, brown shades, and a little lavender scrunchie around his braid to go with his girlfriend's dress. The actors held hands, cuddled, and laughed on the red carpet at at Cineworld Leicester Square. At one point, Momoa stopped to sweetly fix Arjona'a hair, and of course she swooned at him because of it. Momoa and Arjona first met while filming Sweet Girl in 2021, but their relationship didn't turn romantic until 2024, when they went public with their romance. Momoa was previously married for nearly two decades to Lisa Bonet, with whom he shares children Lola and Nakoa-Wolf. They announced their split in early 2022. See all the photos of Momoa and Arjona looking loved-up on the red carpet here: You Might Also Like 4 Investment-Worthy Skincare Finds From Sephora The 17 Best Retinol Creams Worth Adding to Your Skin Care Routine
