Here are the winners of the “Profondo Blu” 2025 photo contest, promoted by the LIFE Conceptu Maris project.
Once again, participation was significant, with dozens of stunning images capturing the emotional encounter with cetaceans and marine turtles in their natural environment.
The technical and naturalistic level of the photographs remains consistently high, despite the challenges of photographing these animals in the open sea.
The evaluation criteria considered the relevance to the contest theme (giving priority to cetaceans and turtles), the difficulty of the documented scene (rare species, particular behaviors, dynamic situations), and the overall quality of the images.

Here are the winners of the 2025 edition, with the respective motivations.

FIRST PLACE

Luigi De Blasi, with a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) captured while swimming close to the Ligurian coast, near Bergeggi Island, in the summer of 2023.
Beyond the rarity of the subject — this whale is not a regular presence in the Mediterranean — the jury appreciated the dramatic light conditions, with the sunset and the approaching storm.
The distinctive tail and fin profile make this species easily recognizable.
Luigi had already received a special mention last year with an aerial image of a fin whale taken by drone.

SECOND PLACE

Andrea Querci, with a group of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) swimming at high speed.
The subject is a classic one, but the frontal approach of the animals toward the photographer makes the image less conventional.
The composition is well balanced, with the surfacing individual sharply in focus in the foreground and two more dolphins visible beneath the wave.

THIRD PLACE

Giulia Mura, with a loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) surfacing on a perfectly calm sea.
The crystal-clear image allows every detail of the reptile to be seen in the brief instant it emerges to breathe.
Below it, two fish — likely wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) in their juvenile stage — can be seen; young individuals of this species often seek shelter near floating objects.

SPECIAL WARDS and MENTIONS

Two other images were very interesting for the jury:

SPECIAL AWARD – Eyes on the Mediterranean

For 2025, the final year of the LIFE Conceptu Maris project, a new award was established for images highlighting the daily threats faced by cetaceans and sea turtles, and more generally, their interactions with human activities.
Among the entries, Roberta Monti’s photograph was one of the most fitting to represent this difficult theme. It portrays a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) swimming in front of a fishing boat.
The relationship between fishermen and dolphins is often complicated, as the latter can take fish directly from the nets.
The LIFE DELFI project, with which Conceptu Maris collaborated through networking activities, focused precisely on this issue.

SPECIAL MENTION

Silvia Balbo, with a devil ray (Mobula mobular) photographed just below the surface.
It is rare to see this species captured so clearly.
This is one of the largest elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean, with a “wingspan” that can exceed three meters.

The three winners, as well as those who received a special mention, will be personally contacted by the LIFE Conceptu Maris staff to deliver the prizes. In the coming weeks, moreover, many other photographs worthy of attention will be presented on the website and on the social networks of the project, with the names of the authors.