Stunning Lundy Island seal photo wins top underwater award

A photographer who captured a striking image of a seal off the coast of Lundy Island has been named British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2025.

David Alpert, an award-winning underwater and wildlife photographer, as well as Co-Founder and Managing Director of the International Institute for Active Ageing (iiaa), took the winning image, titled "The Curious Seal". 

Selected from thousands of entries, the photograph challenges the misconception that British waters are murky and lifeless.

The global photography contest attracted 6,750 underwater images, with the winners announced at an awards ceremony in central London on Thursday, 20 February 2025, hosted by The Crown Estate.

Underwater Photographer of the Year is an annual UK-based competition celebrating photography beneath the surface of oceans, lakes, rivers, and even swimming pools. 

This year’s contest drew entries from 28 countries across 13 categories, including Macro, Wide Angle, Behaviour, and Wreck photography, with three categories dedicated to images taken in British waters.

The 2025 judging panel featured experienced underwater photographers Peter Rowlands, Tobias Friedrich, and Dr Alexander Mustard MBE. 

The competition, first held in 1965, awarded Phil Smith as its inaugural Underwater Photographer of the Year.

Speaking about his winning image, David said: “My photo is from Lundy Island, a marine protected area since 1973. British seals are delightfully curious, more interactive than any other species I have dived with around the world. Briefly, I become one of the privileged few, crossing the bridge into the world of a sentient wild animal.

“North Devon is easily one of the most beautiful coastlines in Britain. High jagged cliffs pounded by an unforgiving sea. With the second highest tide change in the world, the outgoing current whips up against waves and wind rolling in from the North Atlantic. Diving windows are limited, so I based myself in the area for two months last year, exploring different locations.”

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, David has lived in London for over 30 years. 

He is a passionate advocate for sustainability and sits on the British Society of Underwater Photographers Committee, as well as the advisory committee of the British Beauty Council’s Sustainable Beauty Coalition. 

While based in London, David spends much of his time in South Devon, and last year, he dedicated two months to photographing the rugged coastline of North Devon, where he took the winning shot.

He took the image at Lundy Island using a Canon 5D MKIII camera with a Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM lens.

He set the ISO at 200, with an aperture of f/8 and a shutter speed of 1/200. 

To illuminate the shot, he used two Inon Z330 strobes, and the setup was housed in a Nauticam underwater housing.