Nguyen Ngoc Thien is the only Vietnamese author to win an award at the “International Ocean Photography Competition 2023,” in the categories of Coral Reefs Around the World and Marine Animal Portraits.
Coral Garden Hon Yen – second prize in the Coral Reefs Around the World category. (Photo: Nguyen Ngoc Thien).
The results of the competition were announced by the Ocean Geographic Society (OGS) and the Ocean Geographic magazine (OG) in early June. Accordingly, photographer Nguyen Ngoc Thien is the only Vietnamese photographer with an award-winning image, including second prize in the category of “Coral Reefs Around the World”, with the work “Coral Garden Hon Yen” taken in the waters of Phu Yen, and an encouragement award in the “Marine Animal Portraits” category with the work “Pufferfish and Plastic Cup” captured during a diving trip in the Nam Du archipelago, Kien Giang.
Vietnam currently has approximately over 1,100 km2 of coral reefs. Hon Yen is also home to a rich ecosystem both underwater and on land with high biodiversity. A 2022 study by the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center (Ministry of Defense) recorded 22 coral species belonging to 7 families at Hon Yen, with many species only found in the waters of Phu Yen, particularly soft corals of the Alcyoniidae family and the Lobophytum genus.
“Coral photos become more impressive when capturing waves that separate the unique landscape between two worlds – above water and below water simultaneously in the same frame, using underwater split-shot photography technique,” Thien describes the technique used for the award-winning photo.
Work “Pufferfish and Plastic Cup” encouragement award in the Marine Animal Portraits category. (Photo: Nguyen Ngoc Thien)
The International Ocean Photography Competition is held annually to honor the most impressive works related to the ocean, thereby conveying knowledge and spreading the message of environmental and ocean ecosystem conservation.
2023 marks the 10th year of the competition, featuring 17 photo categories: coral reefs around the world, marine animal behavior, marine animal portraits, and the relationship between humans and the ocean… The total prize value is $90,000.
