Searching For The Octographer! (Octopus Photo Competition)
As part of “Worlds Oceans Week,” The Explorers Club and OctoNation are excited to announce the first global octopus photo competition, The Octographer! Photos will showcase the unique, captivating world of octopus diversity in hopes to bring excitement and awareness to ocean conservation. And let’s be real, octopus are in a league of their own! Underwater photographers have a deep appreciation for the beauty of our oceans– we’re excited to create a place to introduce you to their work and celebrate them!
This open and free photo competition will help broaden and achieve the ‘World Oceans Week’ goal of “sailing the five C’s”:
- Creativity
- Conservation
- Collaboration
- Community
- Celebration
Winning images will be recognized during ‘World Oceans Week’ and displayed physically at the Explorers Club Head Quarters in New York- as well as virtually!
“The other-worldly beauty and strangeness of these brilliant, sensitive creatures, can’t help but inspire our wonder. I’m confident that honoring some of the dazzling images underwater photographers have captured of octopuses’ secret lives will help re-awaken our reverence for the ocean–and help summon the will we need to protect it.”
Sy Montgomery, author of the New York Times Bestselling book “The Soul of an Octopus”
🐙 The Octographer: Categories
This octopus photo competition has a specific theme for each category open for photographic submissions* (*Photographers can submit up to 4 images total)
Behavior
This category aims to showcase everything from camouflage, motherhood, octopuses interacting with other species, mating, and predation. Octopuses in action!
Details
Send us your best images highlighting octo-details. This category is designed for those inspiring images of octopus eyes, arms, or any other unique feature. Think close-ups!
Photo Techniques
This category was created for all of those images showcasing stellar photo techniques, including land and sea split-shots, wide-angle, blackwater, and depth. Cutting-edge images!
Portrait
Not sure your work fits within any of the other categories? Submit your awe-inspiring glamor shots of octopuses here!
📷 Things To Know Before Entering
- The entries must be submitted electronically through the photo competition form below in accordance with the competition guidelines and subject to the competition rules.
- Additionally, recognition and diffusion of images, finalists, and honorable mentions will be widely exposed throughout the contest websites, the media and the informational materials related to ‘World Oceans Week’. Other exciting prizes & judges to be announced!
- The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 1 at 5:00 pm ET
For inquiries, please contact [email protected]
Good luck to everyone, and may the best Octographers win! 🐙🏆🎉
✨ Submit Your Photo to the Form Below! ⬇️
Photo Submission Guidelines
Entries must be saved in jpeg format and should be sized to be between 2000 and 6000 pixels in the longest dimension. Please limit your images to a maximum file size of 5,000KB (5MB). An image can only be submitted once, each photographer is permitted to submit up to 4 images total. The contestant can recommend the category for each image but final categorization is at the discretion of the judges.
Note: Winning Entries may be asked for higher resolution files or RAW files for display and verification purposes.
Warren Carlyle is an internationally recognized octopus expert and founder of OctoNation, the world’s largest octopus fan club and nonprofit organization dedicated to octopus education.
Dubbed the “OctoKing” by Sy Montgomery and featured as a co-author on National Geographic’s SecretsOfTheOctopus.com, Warren has spent over a decade making octopus science accessible and entertaining for all ages.
As the Octopus’ PR agent, Warren regularly collaborates with hundreds of underwater photographers, marine scientists, artists, and aquarists to create engaging, research-backed content that reaches millions monthly.
As Jacques Cousteau said, “People protect what they love.”OctoNation’s community of over 1 million members couldn’t agree more. 🐙Want to get involved? Email Warren at [email protected]
