The “Dwellers of the Night” series from Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya, or Pari, won top honors for the Project//21 category at the Hasselblad Masters 2026 earlier this month, adding to the list of awards from one of Thailand’s most interesting up-and-coming wildlife photographers.
“We always had a camera, so I just liked taking photos of what I saw, and I just realized there was more to improve on. So I practiced and practiced and it became a passion,” Pari tells BK Magazine.
Photo: "Dwellers of Night" / Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya
At just 14, scuba diver and photographer Pari’s winning series was taken in Anilao, Philippines, featuring bioluminescent deep-sea octopus, ribbon eel, and other creatures of the deep.
“These were taken in a black water dive. We have to put the camera in a housing,” he says. “There's different lighting methods and mine was for a slow shutter speed. I just put a video light with some colors on top of the subjects, then finished up with normal light strobes to capture the details.”
Photo: "Dwellers of Night" / Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya
The award, a plaudit for emerging photographers under the age of 21, was selected from more than 108,000 submissions from photographers worldwide.
Despite his young age, this is not the first time the world has noticed this young photographer, winning the Young Shark Photographer of the Year 2025. Frequent visitors to the BACC may also remember the young photographer’s “Pay Back to the Ocean” underwater photography exhibition last month.
Photo: Thresher shark / Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya
“There was this one time I was really close with a humpback whale, and I really enjoyed it cause it was really big and it came really close and we got to spend time with it,” he says when asked about his favorite things he’s ever shot. “I got to shoot them while they were really cooperating and they weren't scared of us.”
For this photographer with a bright future, the thing he is most looking forward to shooting is in Mexico.
Photo: Thresher shark / Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya
“In Mexico, there's a place where sardines gather and there's predators to come and hunt the sardines. It’s something I saw on TV, so I really want to witness that by myself,” he says.
In October, this young photographer is off to shoot In Indonesia, specifically hunting for sea slugs and smaller creatures. As for Thailand, Pari had a few places in Thailand worth a mention.
“For underwater photography, I think down in the Andaman side of Thailand is better than the Gulf of Thailand, and it's like there's many islands and places like near Phuket and Kohlipe.”
You can follow more of Pari’s work on Instagram at his website.
