【The Playbirds】

Marine scientists admit we've "barely scratched" the surface of the Earth's oceans,The Playbirds but patient, talented, fearless photographers give us a beautiful glimpse of it each year.

The winners of the annual Underwater Photographer of the Year competition have been announced, annually diving into the dark depths to introduce us to a world beneath the surface of oceans, pools, rivers, and lakes.

Celebrating underwater photography since 1965, the UK competition features 13 categories including wrecks, portrait, wide angle, macro, behaviour, and marine conservation.

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SEE ALSO: 20 underwater photos that illuminate creatures dwelling in the dark depths

This year's winner, beating 4,200 entries from 71 countries, is Spain's Rafael Fernandez Caballero with a stunning wide angle photograph of a shiver of whale sharks in the Maldives' Ari Atoll. "It was already incredible when one whale shark came to our boat,” said Fernandez in a press statement. "But more and more kept arriving. I was diving with Gador Muntaner, a shark researcher, who couldn’t believe it as their numbers grew. He counted 11 sharks that night — a once in a lifetime encounter that nobody thought was possible."

Head to the website to learn more about the stories behind these images, and enjoy the view below.

Here's the winner: "Giants of the night" by Rafael Fernandez Caballero (Wide angle) Credit: Rafael Fernandez Caballero "Against All Odds" by Hannah Le Leu (Third, Wide angle) Credit: Hannah Le Leu "Sunset Ray" by Andy Schmid (Runner up, Wide angle) Credit: Andy Schmid "At 40 meters the wreck of Tyrifjord rest in peace" by Alex Dawson (Winner, Wrecks) Credit: Alex Dawson "All You Need Is Love" by Pekka Tuuri (Winner, My Backyard) Credit: Pekka Tuuri "Mimicry" by Javier Murcia (Winner, Macro) Credit: Javier Murcia "Diamonds and Rust" by Paul Pettitt (Most Promising British Underwater Photographer) Credit: Paul Pettitt "Rock pool star" by Martin Stevens. Credit: Martin Stevens "Great white split" by Matty Smith (British Underwater Photographer of the Year) Credit: Matty Smith "Deadly reflections with a happy ending" by Rafael Fernandez Caballero. Credit: Rafael Fernandez Caballero "Big appetite" by Thien Nguyen Ngoc (Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year) Credit: Thien Nguyen Ngoc

Check out last year's winners here.

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