The winners of the Ocean Art 2011 contest have been announced. Best of Show goes to Tobias Friedrich of Germany with a wide-angle photograph of several manta rays, while other categories feature images of a feeding leopard seal, moray eels and squids. The contest was judged by Marty Snyderman, Bonnie Pelnar, Martin Edge, and Tony Wu.

Full results are available below, or on the Ocean Art pages. Hearty congratulations to all the winners and, of course, to the many members of the Wetpixel community featured in the results.

The Second Annual Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition, organized by the Underwater Photography Guide, has announced its winners for 2011. This year’s Ocean Art Photo Competition represents entrants from over fifty countries.

Over $82,000 worth of prizes will be awarded to 52 underwater photographers, including a 10-night all-inclusive package for 2 people at KBR Lembeh, 18 nights in Papua New Guinea at Walindi/ Febrina and Loloata, 11 days on the SMY Ondina, 1.5 spots to the Socorro Islands aboard the Rocio Del Mar, an 11 day trip on the vessel KLM Aurora, a 7 day charter in Fiji aboard the Nai’a, 5 nights’ accommodations and diving at Wananavu, a one week package for 2 people at Maluku Divers Resort, and a trip to either Socorro or Guadalupe aboard Nautilus Explorer.

Judges this year included prestigious professional photographers Marty Snyderman, Bonnie Pelnar, Martin Edge, and Tony Wu.

There are at least 4 winners in each of 12 categories, including Wide-Angle, Macro, Portrait, Behavior, Novice, Nudibranchs, SuperMacro, Fashion, Coldwater, and 3 Compact Camera categories.

The Best of Show was a stunning wide-angle photograph of several manta rays, taken by Tobias Friedrich of Germany. Other stunning images include a hunting leopard seal, a pair of eels, and a beautiful squid composition. Thousands of entries were viewed by the judges before the final set of amazing images were selected, and deemed some of the best underwater photos in the world.

Judging was quite difficult due to the high quality of images. World famous underwater photographer and contest judge Martin Edge commented, “This year the judging was very tight due to so many superb images. After much discussion, agreements, and disagreements, we felt the winners really stood out. For myself, the best in show was the most awesome shot in the entire collection.”

Winning photos can be seen below or on the Ocean Art winners page.

Complete List of Winners:

Tobias Friedrich, “Manta Madness”.

1st Place: Tobias Friedrich.
2nd Place: Luis Javier Sandoval.
3rd Place: Shane Gross.
4th Place: Todd Winner.
5th Place: Amir Stern.
HM: Allison Vitsky.
HM: Daniel Selmeczi.
HM: Richard Shucksmith.

1st Place: Nataliya Chervyakova.
2nd Place: Raimundo Fernandez Diez.
3rd Place: Todd Bretl.
4th Place: Christian Loader.
5th Place: Eeckhaut Luc.
HM: Clark Miller.
HM: Domenico Roscigno.
HM: Guido Villani.

1st Place: Luis Miguel Cortes Lozano.
2nd Place: Steven Kovacs.
3rd Place: Todd Mintz.
4th Place: Shen Collazo.
5th Place: Alexander Semenov.
HM: Phil Sokol.
HM: Claudio Gazzaroli.
HM: Simone Caprodossi.

1st Place: Anders Salesjö.
2nd Place: Colin Lee.
3rd Place: Christian Loader.
4th Place: Fabien Michenet.
5th Place: Domenico Roscigno.
HM: Alessandro Pagano.
HM: Kevin Lee.
HM: Indra Swari Wonowidjojo.

1st Place: Patricia Gunderson.
2nd Place: Steven Kovacs.
3rd Place: Christian Loader.
4th Place: Maxim Tomashevich.
HM: Pedro Carrillo.
HM: Luc Rooman.
HM: Joaquin Gutierrez Fernandez.

1st Place: Steve De Neef.
2nd Place: Wendy Hoevenaars.
3rd Place: Pedro Carrillo.
4th Place: JoAnn Wilkins.
HM: Jeffrey Hartog.
HM: Daniel Selmeczi.
HM: Barbara Mehli-Schilling.

1st Place: Lill Haugen.
2nd Place: Tobias Friedrich.
3rd Place: Dan Bolt.
4th Place: JoAnn Wilkins.
HM: Annika Persson.
HM: Dale Sanders.
HM: Daniel Selmeczi.

1st Place: Salvatore Ianniello.
2nd Place: Fredrik Ehrenström.
3rd Place: Fredrik Ehrenström.
4th Place: Kevin Lee.
HM: Domenico Roscigno.
HM: Adriano Morettin.
HM: Chris Gug.

1st Place: Tony Cherbas.
2nd Place: Tony Cherbas.
3rd Place: Marcel Hagendijk.
4th Place: Pietro Formis.
HM: Pietro Cremone.
HM: Pietro Cremone.
HM: Elizabeth Sullivan.

1st Place: Jannik Pedersen.
2nd Place: Hamid Rad.
3rd Place: Jannik Pedersen.
4th Place: Adam Purdy.
HM: Pietro Biondo.
HM: Leena Roy.
HM: Doug Anderson.

1st Place: Jackie Campbell.
2nd Place: Martina Gambirasi.
3rd Place: Jun Lao.
4th Place: George Jolokai.
HM: Andras Pohl.
HM: Alexander Barth.
HM: Stephen Holinski.

1st Place: Adrian Kaye.
2nd Place: Jackie Campbell.
3rd Place: Guy Carter.
4th Place: Paolo Rossi.
HM: Leena Roy.
HM: Gery Beeckmans.
HM: Andras Pohl.