Best Of UAE’s Photography Talent Awarded At EDA’s 17th Annual Digital Online Underwater Photography & Film Competition

Celebrating its 17^th year, the annual Digital Online Underwater Photography & Film Competition recognised the best of the UAE’s underwater photography talent across multiple image and video categories at an awards ceremony at Deep Dive Dubai last week.

Open to EDA members, the competition was launched by the Emirates Diving Association (EDA)in 2009 with a mission to capture the beauty of the underwater world and reveal it to non-divers and those unfamiliar with the marine environment. Through the event, EDA seeks to develop a deeper relationship between the general public and the world’s oceans to encourage conservation practices for this vital ecosystem.

Prizes were awarded to the winners by Juma Khalifa bin Thalith, EDA’s Chairman and celebrated author, Ali Khalifa bin Thalith, renowned photographer and filmmaker and Secretary General of the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award, and Mohamed Faraj Abdulla Jaber, EDA’s Health, Safety and Technical Inspector.

Guests were also treated to a short presentation by Munther Ayache, Corporate Communication Manager at Canon Middle East, alongside Darryl Owen, Founder of Project REEFrame and Freestyle Divers, who discussed the powerful role of underwater photography and videography in driving ocean awareness and conservation. Reflecting on initiatives such as Canon’s World Unseen campaign and Project REEFrame, the session highlighted the important role photographers and filmmakers play as ocean advocates, bringing the unseen beauty and challenges of the underwater world to wider audiences through visual storytelling.

Commenting on the 2026 awards ceremony, Juma Khalifa bin Thalith, Chairman of the Emirates Diving Association said, “I would like to wish a warm congratulations to all the winners tonight. Theimagery and videography submitted this year by these talented individuals was fantastic, and I’m grateful to our judges from across the world who gave their valuable timeto assess the best in each category. It’s heartwarming to see so many ocean enthusiasts supporting our mission to reveal the underwater world to audiences across the United Arab Emirates and the world. I’m also deeply grateful to our sponsors for the event, who providedall the excellent prizesto reward the winners for their exceptional work.The competition could not succeed without you.”

During the awards ceremony hosted at Deep Dive Dubai, the world’s deepest diving pool, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes were presented to winners across seven categories, with over 14 different nationalities represented in the list of winners, including three Emirati nationals.

Deciding on the winners was a panel of judges comprising world-renowned photographers, filmmakers and researchers from across the globe, including the UAE’s very own Mohamed Abdulla Almusallami, an award-winning underwater photographer and marine biologist, affiliate at Mohammed bin Rashid Academy of Scientists, Head of Fisheries Management at the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, and a Board Member at the Emirates Zoos and Aquariums Association.

Categories in the competition included Macro, Wide Angle, Best of the UAE, Black & White, Behaviour, Creative Underwater Photography, and the Video category, for which this year’s theme was ‘An Ocean Story’.

To find out more about the Digital Online Underwater Photography & Film Competition and the Emirates Diving Association, log onto www.emiratesdiving.com.