13 Breathtaking Photographs That Celebrate Water and Life

The gorgeous winners of the 10th annual HIPA photography awards were centered around the theme of Water

Photo: Jasmine Carey. All photos via HIPA, used with permission

The HIPA Photography Awards, which attracts tens of thousands of entrants each year from around the world, has announced winners of its ninth season, focusing on the theme of “Water.” The grand prize went to Australian photographer Jasmine Carey for her gorgeous photograph of a mother humpback whale resting beside her two-week-old baby in the South Pacific near the Kingdom of Tonga.

The runners-up and winners in sub-categories (mobile photography, portfolio awards, color, and black and white photography) treated the theme in various ways ranging from the grace and beauty of aquatic animals to the delicate and sometimes fraught balance between humans and the waterways we depend on to live.

‘Snow Mona Lisa’ by Fahad Al Enezi (First Place, Color)

An Arctic fox retrieves her stashed food from an ice hole in Canada. Photo: Fahad Al Enezi

‘Reflection’ by Budi Gunawan (Second Place, Mobile Photography)