These silversides played in a beam of sunlight at noon. I watched them swim in unison and waited until they formed this ball! It was magical!

Location: Devil's Grotto, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Category: Behavior

Manta ray playing with me in the Socorro Islands. Just amazing how they want to interact with us. Shot with a Canon 7D with a Tokina 10-17 with 2 YS-D1 Sea & Sea Strobes.

Location: Socorro Island/Socorros

Category: Wide Angle

As she prepares for her dive, a free diver breathes on the surface with the bright sun behind her. This was taken while I was lying on my back on the sand at 10 meters.

Location: Malta

Category: Divers

Blue shark (Prionace glauca), several miles offshore of southern Rhode Island. Nikon D300 in Aquatica, Nikkor 10.5mm w/Sea & Sea YS90 strobes.

Location: Rhode Island

Category: Wide Angle

Frantic fish neatly swim in different directions, helping me get this unique shot.

Location: Roca Redonda, The Galapagos

Category: Behavior

Diving the wreck of the Ex-USS Kittiwake with some free divers gave me a very relaxed feeling, as they are totally free! (model: Kurt Randolph)

Location: Ex-USS Kittiwake, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Category: Divers

My first time meeting these gentle creatures impressed me very much. I loved every minute spent with them, and so did my family. Swimming with them is a very humbling experience. Pure!

Location: Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida, USA

Category: Wide Angle

A small school of bigeye trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus) huddles just off Mexico's Roca Partida, avoiding the powerful surge present in the afternoon. Nikon D300 in Aquatica, Tokina 10-17mm, Sea & Sea YS90 strobes.

Location: Roca Partida, Revillagigedos, Mexico

Category: Behavior

A free diver takes time to contemplate at the bow of the Ex-USS Kittiwake. Nothing was staged — he did what he felt, and I tried to capture his state of mind! (Model: Mark Tilley)

Location: Ex-USS Kittiwake, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Category: Divers

This photo was taken at a cleaning station north of Cancun, Mexico. Mantas gather here each year in the fall.

Location: Cancun, Mexico

Category: Wide Angle

Whale sharks arrive in Roca Partida during the months of November, May and June. When they are here, they swim curiously around divers.

Location: Roca Partida, Revillagigedos, Mexico

Category: Divers

I was drawn to the sweep of shadow to the left of the rudder and the way it contrasted with the white sand. The challenge was waiting for all the other divers to leave so there would be no bubbles in the shot. Canon T2i, 1/125 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200, Tokina 10-17 at 10mm.

Location: Kittiwake, Grand Cayman

Category: Wide Angle

Beautiful oceanic manta over Magic Mountain — possibly the only cleaning station in the world where reef and oceanic mantas come together. It posed for a split second and then continued on its way.

Location: Magic Mountain/Raja Ampat, Indonesia

Category: Wide Angle

A small pinnacle somewhere close to the middle of nowhere — but right next to Isla San Benedicto (Revillagigedos aka Socorros). Nikon D300 in Aquatica, Tokina 10-17mm, Sea & Sea YS90 strobes.

Location: Isla San Benedicto, Revillagigedos, Mexico

Category: Divers

During wintertime, sailfish gather in the waters north of Cancun, Mexico, to corral sardines. Displaying amazing speed, the sailfish catch up with the fleeing sardines and slash their bills sideways in the middle of the baitball, hoping to spear one.

Location: Cancun, Mexico

Category: Behavior

A lone lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) glides above the fracas of sharks and divers below. Nikon D300 in Aquatica, Nikkor 12-24mm.

Location: Tiger Beach, Bahamas

Category: Wide Angle

We came across these two Galapagos sharks during our ascent. Being close to the surface, their skin really picked up the sun. Once rendered in B&W, the lighting and contrast gives them a great metallic quality that accentuates the purity and strength of these apex predators. Canon T2i, 1/80 sec at f/11, ISO 200, Tokina 10-17 at 17mm.

Location: Landside, Wolf Island, Galapagos

Category: Wide Angle

Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), in the late afternoon at Tiger Beach, Bahamas. Nikon D300 in Aquatica, Nikkor 12-24mm w/Sea & Sea YS90 strobes.

Location: Tiger Beach, Bahamas

Category: Wide Angle

This beautiful image of the C-53 wreck (aka Felipe Xicotencatl) in Cozumel, Mexico, is a perfect view of this vessel, which serves as a giant wedge between one side of the ocean and the other.

Location: Cozumel, Mexico

Category: Wide Angle

Getting close to and shooting macro of a gigantic phyllidia pustulosa resulted in a unique portrait of a very common nudibranch.

Location: Komodo, Indonesia

Category: Macro

When the water gets a little warmer in May, whale sharks can be found swimming around Roca Partida.

Location: Roca Partida, Revillagigedos, Mexico

Category: Divers

Using the bottom of the boat as a shelter, these jacks had formed a very dense school for protection from the nearby sharks and tuna hunting in the area.

Location: El Boiler/San Benedicto, Revillagigedos, Mexico

Category: Behavior

This photo showcases the perfect mimetism or mimicry of a crinoid shrimp.

Location: Philippines

Category: Macro

From sharks to wrecks, divers and beyond, our readers have submitted some incredible images for our 2013 Scuba Diving Photo Contest. While they're not our winners just yet, here's a gallery of our favorite black and white images ... so far. (Captions provided by photographers.)

Do you have a photo that can top these? Enter the 2013 Scuba Diving Photo Contest now!