During the past 24 years of going out to sea as tour operators in South Africa, Silke Schimpf and her husband, Rainer, have encountered orcas hunting several times, killing animals such as seals, dolphins and sharks. But never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that they and their crew would witness an attack on a humpback whale like the one that took place on 1 December 2023.

We asked our contributors to share their favorite photos that show underwater seascapes, and they came back with a range of wide-angle shots, featuring a variety of marine life large and small.