ADEX 2026 Voice of the Ocean Photo Contest: “Elegy” Named Runner-Up in Underwater Arts

Voice of the Ocean 2026 Results

Photography and article by William Drumm

I’m thrilled to share that two of my images were selected as finalists in the ADEX Voice of the Ocean 2026 Photo Competition, with “Elegy” placing second (runner-up) in the Underwater Arts category. My image “Benediction” was also named a finalist in the same category.

This was the first photo competition I have ever entered. To have both submissions recognized, and to place among the top Underwater Arts images this year, was a nice accomplishment.

About the Voice of the Ocean Competition

ADEX Voice of the Ocean is the flagship photo, video, and art competition of the Asia Dive Expo in Singapore, the largest and longest-running dive show in Asia. This year’s edition, ADEX Big Blue Legacy, ran from April 10 to 12, 2026, at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre and marked the 32nd edition of Singapore Ocean Week.

Thousands of entries were shortlisted and then judged live on stage by a prestigious international jury: Jim Decker, Cristian Dimitrius, Tavi Castro, Scott “Gutsy” Tuason, Tobias Friedrich, Ipah Uid Lynn, Doudou, and Renee Capozzola. The live judging event was emceed by Ian Bongso-Seldrup of DivePhotoGuide.

Categories this year included Animal Behavior, Blackwater, Conservation, Smartphone, Ocean Planet, Underwater Arts, Short Film, and Portfolio. Fifteen percent of entry proceeds go to marine conservation efforts, which is one of the reasons this competition matters to me beyond the work itself.

The category winner for Underwater Arts was Ysabela Coll, and the overall Best of Show and ADEX Photographer of the Year 2026 went to Boz Johnson for his winning Portfolio. Huge congratulations to them and to every other photographer, videographer, and artist recognized this year.

“Elegy”

Elegy is an underwater fine art portrait of Ahna Green that explores the tension between death and beauty beneath the surface. Against the pale skin and brilliant blue water, the image became something I hadn’t planned: a face made of death, held gently, tenderly. Not hidden or discarded. Just held.

That’s what this image means to me. Not that darkness wins, but that you can hold it in the light, and find something beautiful in the weight of it.

“Benediction”

A figure in white drifts through a shaft of light inside a cenote in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Shot in a secret cenote near Playa del Carmen, Benediction was made on a day that seemed determined to resist it. Heavy rain moved through between breaks of sunlight, flooding the cave mouth with light for minutes at a time before pulling it back. The window was narrow and unpredictable.

Model Esther Abad hovered at around 30 to 40 feet, breathing from a safety diver’s tank between shots. The darkness was a real challenge. I pushed the ISO high and dropped the shutter speed low, knowing I’d need to shoot volume to find one frame sharp enough to hold together at that depth and in that light.

This was it.

Esther in white against all of that darkness feels like a bit of a vision to me.

The Prize

The runner-up prize for Underwater Arts is a pro package from two sponsors I’m grateful to:

SEA&SEA YS-D130R strobe (worth US$1,000). Founded in 1972 in Tokyo, SEA&SEA is one of the premier manufacturers of underwater imaging equipment, known for housings, strobes, and video lights. Their industry-leading YS-series strobes, including the YS-D3 Mark II Lightning and the YS-D3 DUO, are a benchmark in the field. They also produce a unique universal housing for the Sony Alpha series, the MDX-α7RV U. SEA&SEA has been a subsidiary of Fisheye since 2021 and continues to innovate in underwater imaging.

Marelux Spectrum 1000 video light (worth US$150).

Having a new strobe on the way means new possibilities for how I light work underwater, and I’m already thinking about the next shoots this will unlock.

Thank You

Thank you to ADEX and Underwater360 for organizing a competition that genuinely celebrates the breadth of what the ocean can mean through a camera. Thank you to DivePhotoGuide for running the entry and publishing process. Thank you to the judges for the time and care that goes into a live judging event of this scale.

Thank you to SEA&SEA and Marelux for sponsoring the prize.

And congratulations to every other finalist, runner-up, and category winner. The work this year was extraordinary, and being in this company at my first competition is something I won’t forget.

You can see the full list of winners on the ADEX Voice of the Ocean 2026 results page and on DivePhotoGuide.

Life through water.