Why 4,000+ Photographers Donated Their Photos for World Ocean Day

The ocean needs our help now more than ever. This June 8th, World Ocean Day is working to unite the planet under the mission: One Ocean, One Future.

Did you know that more than 70% of the world's oxygen actually comes from algae and plants in the ocean?

We need a healthy ocean for a healthy earth — and this year World Ocean Day is reminding us that it's time to take action to protect our ocean's future.

The Pexels community rallied in support of World Ocean Day with more than 4,000 photographers from around the globe donating an astonishing 24,000+ photos and videos for this important cause through our One Ocean, One Future challenge.

Today, we're sharing the stunning winning photos as well as our curation team's top picks for honorable mentions from this talented group of photographers.

Challenge winners featured on NBC 6 South Florida

Photos and videos have the power to create change

We believe that access to free, high quality images of causes that matter can help bring about change. Nonprofits like World Ocean Day need access to photos and videos to help spread the word about their mission.

The generous photographers who joined this challenge are helping expand the Pexels library of images for use by all nonprofits — and anyone else raising awareness about the need to protect the ocean.

The imagery we see has the power to make an impact, and that's just what Pexels photographers are doing this World Ocean Day. Read on to meet our challenge winners.

See the top 100 challenge entries here.

First Place Winner: Elianne Dipp

We were blown away by this stunning shot by Elianne Dipp, a freediving coach and ocean lover located in Bali. Snapped underwater in Indonesia, this image really captures the balance of human and marine life coexisting and felt like the perfect fit for the One Ocean, One Future winner. Elianne will receive a $1,000 cash prize.

Follow Elianne on Pexels.

Second Place Winner: Jimmy Bolt

Located in Miyazaki, Japan, Jimmy Bolt is an Australian who loves capturing beach scenes on camera. This dynamic surf shot grabbed our attention and also grabbed the second place challenge prize of $500.

Follow Jimmy on Pexels.

Third Place Winner: Kammeran Gonzalez-Keola

This captivating surf image by Hawaii photographer Kammeran Gonzalez-Keola does a wonderful job of capturing the dynamic motion and colors of the ocean waves. Kammeran also takes home a $500 prize. Hear more about Kammeran's photography on the Pexels podcast.

Follow Kammeran on Pexels.

Honorable Mentions

There were so many incredible photos and videos submitted to this challenge that we couldn't resist sharing a few more of our team's favorites. In no particular order, here are our top 10 honorable mentions.