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Dive under the sea with 'Underwater Photographer' winners

Shipwrecks, sharks, inquisitive sea lions and even a long-necked swan make the grade in this stunning underwater photography contest.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper

Would you like to be, under the sea, in an octopus' garden, in the shade? Underwater photographers are living the dream, and the images they send back are like postcards from Atlantis.

The annual Underwater Photographer of the Year contest "seeks to celebrate photography beneath the surface of the sea, lakes, rivers and even swimming pools." The contest has 10 categories, including one for photos taken near or on shipwrecks, and 3 categories for photos taken in British waters.

Marvel at a sea of award-winning underwater photos

See all photos

A photograph of a hunting octopus won French diver Gabriel Barathieu the title Underwater Photographer of the Year 2017. His image beat out 4,500 underwater photos taken by photographers from 67 countries.

And though many of the photos are captured deep under the sea, Baratheiu's winner wasn't one of them.

"͞It was taken in knee-deep water, showing that underwater photography is open to anyone who is prepared to dip their toe in the water," said judge and underwater photographer Alex Mustard.

Here's a look at just a small sampling of the winning and commended images announced earlier this month.