Approach
A future scuba diver takes their first steps into the underwater world.

Two chubby feet, making perhaps their first kicks in a pool, herald a scuba diver to come.

This delightful image by Giordano Cipriani stood out among more than 2,000 entries — along with all of the other images on these two pages — because it made us smile. That’s something diving and photography have in common: Each brings us joy, whether we’re participating in the sport or hobby, or admiring images of and by those who do.

For instance, who could possibly resist Enrico Pati’s inventive “Crazy Face,” a Papua-style mask made of sea creatures (extra credit if you can name all of the critters that make up this fanciful collage), or Conor Culver’s sweet circus clownfish?

Clownfish Circus
This image is playing off of the name "clownfish."

Or a beefy tough-guy channel cling crab, defending his turf in a salty Bahamas pond, captured by Caine Delacy? Not to mention Chris Fallows’ mola mola, whispering sweet nothings to a couple of pilot fish?

Be sure to check out all of the underwater photo contest winners, but first we wanted to honor the shooters who followed that golden rule of showbiz: Make ’em laugh.

Photo captions provided by photographers

Defense Is The Best Offense
The channel cling crab in a small salty pond in the Bahamas gave me a display of its best defensive strategy.

Fish Eye
It's always a challenge photographing fish, particularly shy gobies that retreat back quickly into the seabed as soon as they see anything approaching. This orange spotted goby, however, was a little more curious. Took me awhile to wait for it to come back out and I managed to get a good shot of it.

Invasion Of The Bumpheads
I quickly dropped in and enjoyed being in close proximity to this large school of bumpheads (50+) for several minutes by myself and they didn't seem to mind my presence. Before I had only seen a couple swimming by so to see their large bodies, unusual foreheads and huge teeth was an experience I will never forget. They look like something out of sci-fi movies!

The Wall Climber
Up or down, under or over... he climbs the wall.

Underwater Yellow
A sheep-like nudibranch in Bali, Indonesia.

Old Man & The Young Leaders
The amazing human-like head of a massive mola mola dwarfs the two pilot fish that lead this open ocean traveller on his global travels.

Wanna Fight?
When approaching a large octopus surprised in the open during a night dive, always remember that they may think that the one they see in the dome is a competitor... and they may want to challenge it.

Faccia
Can you name all of the sea creatures and marine life that create this mask?

Emerald Montage
This shark was photographed while diving at Emerald Charters in Jupiter, FL.

Browse some of our other photo-contest favorites below.

2016 Photo Contest Winners
Sea Turtle Photos - 2016 Photo Contest
Shark Photos - 2016 Photo Contest
2015 Photo Contest Winners

Photo submissions for next year will open in January 2017, so make sure to check scubadiving.com/photocontest for details and updates on the 2017 Through Your Lens Photo Contest!