‘I was relieved I got the shot without my phone ending up in the sea!’: Easelyn Pineda’s best phone picture

As the weather turned, the photographer caught two traditional Filipino spearfishers in motion

Laiya beach is a three-hour drive from where Easelyn Pineda lives, in Quezon City, the Philippines. Last September, she was visiting the area with friends. “It makes for the perfect getaway,” she says. “We ate fresh seafood, went snorkelling and beachcombing, sifting through the tide pools to collect the most beautiful seashells we could find.”

On the day Pineda took this photo, she and her friends were exploring the beach when the weather turned. “Late afternoon, the ocean breeze picked up and brought a light rain shower, then it became progressively gloomier. This scene unfolded in front of me,” she says. “Two young men from the local community were spearfishing right off the shore. It seemed like they were braving the weather to see if they could add some food to the table for the day. It was a very humbling thing to witness and capture.”

She adds that the rain and fading light helped emphasise just how challenging and labour-intensive traditional spearfishing is. “It made the subject’s effort stand out even more.”

Pineda waded into the water with her phone to get closer, later making adjustments to ensure the forms of the fishers weren’t lost in silhouette. Her image went on to be shortlisted in the motion category at the 2026 Sony World Photography awards.

Watching the men work made Pineda reflect on what she calls the “enduring strength and resilience of the Filipino spirit”. She was, she adds, “thrilled to capture such unscripted authenticity, and even more than that, relieved that I got the shot without my phone ending up in the sea!”

• The Sony World Photography awards 2026 exhibition is at Somerset House, London, 17 April-4 May.