As a sponsor of the 14th OGPICOTY, DIVEVOLK sees its underwater housings claim the Smart Phone category’s top two awards and three of its Honourable Mentions among 300-plus entries — led by brand ambassador Zhengjie Wu’s gold-winning blackwater image “Symbiosis”
OGPICOTY 2026 Underwater Smart Phone Category winners announced — a DIVEVOLK x Ocean Geographic poster showing the five winning images. Courtesy of Ocean Geographic / DIVEVOLK.
ZHUHAI, China, June 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DIVEVOLK, a global leader in smartphone underwater housing technology and a sponsor of the 14th Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year (OGPICOTY) 2026, today confirmed that photographers shooting with DIVEVOLK housings dominated the competition’s Smart Phone category. Among more than 300 entries, DIVEVOLK-equipped images took the category’s Winner and Runner-Up awards and three of its Honourable Mentions — a near-clean sweep of one of the most competitive divisions in the world’s most respected ocean-imaging competition.
Organised by the Ocean Geographic Society, OGPICOTY drew more than 10,000 submissions from photographers in 35 countries this year. Winners were announced during the Society’s World Ocean Day live broadcast on 8 June 2026. The competition is judged by an extraordinary panel of ocean icons including Dr Sylvia Earle, David Doubilet, Brian Skerry, Jennifer Hayes, Stephen Frink, Dr Alex Mustard, Valerie Taylor, Howard and Michele Hall, and Michael AW.
Winner: “Symbiosis” by Zhengjie Wu
Winner of the OGPICOTY 2026 Smart Phone category — “Symbiosis” by Zhengjie Wu, shot on a vivo X200 Pro in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Platinum V2 housing. Courtesy of Zhengjie Wu / DIVEVOLK.
DIVEVOLK brand ambassador Zhengjie Wu won the Smart Phone category with “Symbiosis,” a blackwater image made off Anilao, Philippines, capturing a juvenile Psenes sheltering inside the bell of a Malo jellyfish. He shot it on a vivo X200 Pro in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Platinum V2 housing.
“The hardest part of underwater smartphone photography is finding, tracking, focusing and composing in near-total darkness, all at once. DIVEVOLK’s full touchscreen control let me use every native shooting function of the phone underwater. When a subject only appears for a few seconds, that decides whether you get the shot.” — Zhengjie Wu
Runner-Up: “Alien Garden” by Tianhong Wang
Runner-Up of the OGPICOTY 2026 Smart Phone category — “Alien Garden” by Tianhong Wang, shot on a HUAWEI Mate80 Pro Max in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Platinum V2 housing. Courtesy of Tianhong Wang / DIVEVOLK.
DIVEVOLK ambassador Tianhong Wang earned second place with “Alien Garden,” in which a tiny reef fish emerges from a surreal field of spiralling tube worms. He captured it on a HUAWEI Mate80 Pro Max in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Platinum V2 housing.
“With top-tier gear, mobile images can deliver competition-grade and publication-grade quality, detail and artistry.” Wang credits DIVEVOLK’s external Bluetooth shutter for eliminating the camera shake that touchscreen shooting can introduce during high-magnification macro work.
Honourable Mention: “Floral Murmurs” by Jack Ho
Honourable Mention at OGPICOTY 2026 — “Floral Murmurs” by Jack Ho, a pair of pygmy seahorses shot on a vivo X100 Ultra in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Platinum V2 housing. Courtesy of Jack Ho / DIVEVOLK.
Veteran underwater photographer Jack Ho earned an Honourable Mention with “Floral Murmurs,” a pair of 1.4-centimetre pygmy seahorses framed against a giant sea fan at 20 metres in Lembeh, Manado, Indonesia. He waited more than twenty minutes for the current to settle and the seahorses to turn toward each other, shooting on a vivo X100 Ultra in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Platinum V2 housing. His blackwater work also received a Special Mention in the same category. Jack Ho is also the winner of the mobile photography category at UPY2026 and Russia's UWPA2026!
Honourable Mention: “The Neon Nomad” by PJ Aristorenas
Honourable Mention at OGPICOTY 2026 — “The Neon Nomad” by PJ Aristorenas, an acetes shrimp shot on a Samsung S24 Ultra in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Plus housing. Courtesy of PJ Aristorenas / DIVEVOLK.
PJ Aristorenas earned an Honourable Mention with “The Neon Nomad,” an acetes shrimp clinging to underwater growth, shot on a Samsung S24 Ultra in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Plus housing.
“This photo was extremely challenging, as the shrimp kept darting around nonstop. Fortunately, with great patience, I managed to capture the perfect shot in the end.” — PJ Aristorenas
The same body of work was also named the winner of the smartphone category at ADEX 2026.
Honourable Mention: “Compass Jellyfish off the Cornwall Coast” by Martin Stevens
Honourable Mention at OGPICOTY 2026 — “Compass jellyfish off the Cornwall coast” by Martin Stevens, shot on an iPhone 14 Pro Max in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Plus housing. Courtesy of Martin Stevens / DIVEVOLK.
UK marine biologist Martin Stevens earned an Honourable Mention with “Compass jellyfish off the Cornwall coast,” a wide shot taken while snorkelling and freediving on an iPhone 14 Pro Max in a DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max Plus housing.
“The DIVEVOLK housing itself is the key game changer for me — the touchscreen works really well and enables full versatility of the phone, including changing camera settings, using third-party apps, and switching between video and photo modes very easily.” — Martin Stevens
DIVEVOLK’s Role at OGPICOTY 2026
Beyond the Smart Phone results, DIVEVOLK supported OGPICOTY 2026 Black & White — Ernie Brooks Award of Excellence Category. A DIVEVOLK user( Teresa Farley) also earned a nomination in the competition’s Photojournalist category using a SeaTouch 4 Max Plus housing.
In her keynote message, OGPICOTY jury chair Dr Sylvia Earle framed the competition as a call to action: “These pictures show us what’s at stake — they inspire us to protect it. Together, may we move from wonder… to will… to action.” The results suggest that the photographers answering that call increasingly include a new generation shooting with smartphones.
Quote from DIVEVOLK
“Seeing DIVEVOLK housings behind the top two awards and three Honourable Mentions in a 300-plus-entry field — judged by the most respected names in ocean imaging — tells us the conversation has shifted. The question is no longer whether a phone can compete underwater, but what stories divers will tell now that the barrier to entry is so much lower. We are proud to have supported OGPICOTY 2026 and congratulate every photographer who placed.” — DIVEVOLK spokesperson
About OGPICOTY
The Ocean Geographic Pictures of the Year (OGPICOTY) competition has, since 2013, championed the power of imagery to inspire understanding and action for the ocean. Organised by the Ocean Geographic Society, it is judged by a panel of ocean scientists, explorers and image-makers, and its winning pictures are celebrated each year around World Ocean Day. The 2026 winners gallery is available at https://ogpicoty.ogsociety.org/2026-winners.
About DIVEVOLK
Founded in Zhongshan, China, DIVEVOLK is a global technology company specializing in smartphone underwater housings and accessories for diving, snorkeling, and marine photography. The company’s flagship SeaTouch 4 Max product line delivers professional-grade underwater smartphone photography capability at a fraction of the cost and complexity of traditional camera systems.
The revolutionary SeaLink UW Smartphone Dada Transmitter enables phones to receive signals at depths of up to 30 meters underwater, supporting features such as live streaming and video communication across multiple platforms. DIVEVOLK was honored as ScubaLab's Best Buy in 2024 and twice won the Dive Award of Innovation in 2024 and 2026.
DIVEVOLK products are sold worldwide through divevolkdiving.com, and authorized retailers. The company is committed to making underwater image creation affordable and accessible to every diver, marine researcher, and ocean communicator, and to advancing the technology that enables it.
Website: https://divevolkdiving.com/
Editor’s Notes
- High-resolution copies of the winning images are available to media on request. Each image must be credited to the named photographer / DIVEVOLK.
- Award winners may be available for interview. Please contact the DIVEVOLK media team to arrange.
- The full OGPICOTY 2026 winners gallery is published at: https://ogpicoty.ogsociety.org/2026-winners
Media Contact
DIVEVOLK Marketing & Communications
Email: collaboration@divevolk.com
Website: https://divevolkdiving.com/
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/81d4dc0f-f526-47ff-94b0-e12100e3a362
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