A young sperm whale calf in the waters of the Eastern Caribbean. This calf was named ‘Hope’ by Brian Skerry while working with the researchers that study these whales. Sperm whale families are matrilineal and are led by the older, wiser females. This particular whale family had struggled to produce a female calf in recent years, with only males being born that then died. This calf was a female and offered hope to this family.

Brian Skerry is a photojournalist and filmmaker specializing in marine wildlife and underwater environments. Since 1998 he has been a contract photographer for National Geographic Magazine, having created and photographed more than 30 feature stories, including seven cover stories. In 2014 he was named as a National Geographic Photography Fellow and then named a National Geographic Society Storytelling Fellow in 2017. In 2017 he was also awarded the title of Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year.

Follow Brian on Instagram @brianskerry.

Off the coast of Guraidhoo, Maldives, two reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) display their typical feeding behaviour: They circle backwards through the water to filter zooplankton. Fascinated by this unique “dance”, I observed these two individuals for a while until they swam closer to each other. I took the chance, held my breath and dove down to capture the moment, that reminded me of Yin and Yang.

Melanie Müller is a wildlife photographer. Working for the German foreign service, she lived in Spain, Lebanon, Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Her photos of the endangered Antillean manatee were exhibited in the Dominican Museum for Natural History.

Follow Melanie on Instagram @melaniemuellerphoto.

Born during the great mobula ray aggregations of spring, Juvenile Munk's devil rays (mobula munkiana) remain in the Sea of Cortez long after their parents have left, using the shallow bays of Espiritu Santo as a nursery. By autumn, the water is clear, a bonus for underwater photography but also signifying less food for the filter feeding rays.

Hanging a green light from the back of our boat, plankton gathers around it and the mobula rays gratefully swoop in for a microscopic buffet. The munkiana seem to fly through the water as they pursue their dinner. Entranced by their grace, I used a 2 second exposure to capture their movements which to my eye, felt like an aquatic ballet. Espiritu Santo Island, Unesco World Heritage site and national park, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Henley Spiers is a renowned underwater photographer, writer, and expedition leader who has fast become one of the most highly decorated wildlife image-makers in the world.

Follow Henley on Instagram @henleyspiers.

I took this photograph in the south of Iceland; at the time I wanted to imagine a cold night in a firmament of black sands where the snow-capped mountains were drawn by the swaying of the waves of the sea; over those mountains I could contemplate the green tones of an aurora borealis.

This is an aerial photograph of an Icelandic beach, from above I could see the swell of the sea and how the water left greenish puddles on the shore.  The green colour of the water is due to the high content of phytoplankton near the surface; these photosynthetic organisms contain chlorophyll, which increases the green colour. 

Antonio Fernandez is a Spanish photographer based in mid-west Spain. He is passionate about nature and landscapes. In his photography, Antonio is constantly searching for the purest essence of nature. His intimate vision of the landscape and personal interpretation of nature gained him many international awards and commendations, to mention just a few: Wildlife Photographer to the Year; Natural Landscape Photography Award;  Montphoto Photo Contest; Big Picture; Imaginature – Festival Fotografia de Paisage; Montier Festival Photo,;BioPhotoContest; World Landscape Photographer. 

Follow Antonio on Instagram @antoniofernandezphoto.