UPY 2026 winners

Alex Mustard · Issue 149, Mar/Apr 2026 · pp. 23–25

Products mentioned: Vivo phone

An adorable pair of Southern elephant seal pups, photographed in a rockpool on the Falkland Islands, sees Matty Smith from Australia named Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) 2026. Smith’s photograph ‘Rockpool Rookies’ triumphed over 7900 pictures entered by underwater photographers from around the world. “Once their pups are weaned, elephant seal mothers abandon them ashore,” explained Smith. “I watched dozens clamber over one another in shallow rockpools, awkwardly learning to swim. On my very first evening, the sky ignited with colour and I captured a handful of frames before the light vanished. It was the defining moment of the long trip.” “The lives of elephant seals traverse land and sea; they are born on wild shores, but thrive in frigid waters,” added chair of the judging panel, marine ecologist Dr Alex Mustard. “Smith used a special dome that he built himself to capture th…