A humpback whale, her newborn calf and a team of divers are the subjects of this year's National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest grand prize-winning image.

The ethereal shot proved to be a bright spot in more than 17,000 entries. According to National Geographic, photographer Anuar Patjane Floriuk of Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico took the winning photo near Roca Partida, an island off the Mexican coast.

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"The photo wasn’t planned,” Floriuk told National Geographic. "I was taking photos near the head of the whale, and all of a sudden she began to swim toward the rest of the diving team. The divers gave the whale and her calf space, and I just clicked at the moment when the flow and composition seemed right."

Floriuk's winning shot earned him a photo expedition to Costa Rica and the Panama Canal.

See the grand prize winning photo and its runner ups, below.