Following the eruption of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines, Jialing Cai (1st place winner) navigated through low visibility and deep fog to find this tiny paper nautilus riding on a wooden stick. Cai pressed the shutter and all those particles you see in the image lit up like snowflakes on a cold, winter's night.
Sea more at the Ocean Photographer of the Year exhibition, which features more than 100 images from the world's best photographers at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.
The photographs selected feature spectacular imagery of wildlife encounters, seascapes, as well as themes of climate change. For those interested in the ocean and nature as a whole, this is a great way to explore the largely untapped depths of the deep blue.
Get ready to dive in and explore ten of the winning photographs below.