Peering into the lion’s den : The winners of the Nature Through the Lens Competition

By James Cutmore

Published: Thursday, 11 August 2022 at 12:00 am

The winners of the prestigious Nature Through the Lens Photographer of the Year Competition 2022 have just been announced, with a brutal image of a flamingo-hunting caracal being named the winner.

Will Nicholls, Founder of Nature Through the Lens, said of winning image: “This is nature at its most raw. The caracal is soaked from chasing the flamingos through the waters, but has come out on top. The contrasting colours against the dark surroundings really make this image pop.”

Photographers compete over eight different competition categories celebrating the natural world including animal behaviour, camera traps, landscapes, urban wildlife and underwater.

Nature TTL is the world’s leading online nature photography resource, providing free tutorials and inspirational features. Photographers can learn more at naturettl.com.

Overall winner

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A caracal (Caracal caracal) hunting along the shore of Lake Ndutu, in the southern Serengeti, Tanzania. Photo by Dennis Stogsdill/Nature TTL

Winner – Urban wildlife category

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A hare runs through the deserted nighttime streets of Kassel, Germany. Photo by Jan Piecha/Nature TTL

Winner – Underwater category

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A pink whipray (Himantura fai) barges through a school of bannerfish, at the affectionately named Tuna Factory, in the Maldives. Photo by Andy Schmid/Nature TTL

Winner – The night sky category

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A cabin is surrounded by snow at Kosciusko, the highest point in Australia. Pictured in the background is a spectacular image of the Milky Way. Photo by Josselin Cornou/Nature TTL

Winner – Wild portraits category

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A male lion (Panthera Leo) sits and eats a freshly-hunted buffalo with his brothers, while the photographer takes his picture from the relative safety of his car. Photographed at Moremi, Okavango Delta, Botswana. Photo by Tomasz Szpila/Nature TTL

Winner – Under 16 category

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Two Malabar parakeets (Psittacula columboides) fight over a stump, in a dispute over territory. This image was shot from a bird hide in Hosanagara, Karnataka, India. Photo by Achintya Murthy/Nature TTL

Runner up – Camera trap category

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A snow leopard (Panthera uncia) scans for prey across the jagged peaks of the Ladakh mountain range in India. Thick snow blankets the ground, but the big cat’s dense coat and furry footpads keep it warm. Photo by Sascha Fonseca/Nature TTL

Winner – Landscapes category

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A thunderstorm passes over a sunflower which, against the odds, has managed to survive on a rubbish dump in the semi-arid Karoo region of South Africa. Photo by Bertus Hanekom/Nature TTL

Winner – Camera trap category

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A grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) photographed in freezing conditions, from a camera trap set up alongside a river in Klukshu, Yukon, Canada. Photo by Geoffrey Reynaud/Nature TTL

Runner up – Underwater category

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When a female eastern gobbleguts (Vincentia novaehollandiae) is ready to lay her eggs, the male opens his mouth near her cloaca orifice, as she pushes the eggs out in a cone-like manner. The male will then holds the eggs in his mouth, like this individual here, and will continue to look after them for a month before hatching occurs. Fortunately, he is still able to feed with the eggs in his mouth. Photo by Talia Greis/Nature TTL

Winner – Small world category

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A multiple exposure image showing a moth’s path in the night sky, pictured at Őrségi National Park, Hungary. Photo by Tibor Litauszki/Nature TTL

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Runner up – Wild portraits category

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This image of a fox was taken at Graubünden, high in the mountains of Switzerland. The individual in this image is stood near a popular marking spot amongst the trees. Photo by Matt Engelmann/Nature TTL

Runner up – The night sky category

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An amazing image combining the northern lights and a moonbow (lunar rainbow), all against the spectacular backdrop of the Godafoss waterfall, Iceland. Photo by Mauro Tronto/Nature TTL

Runner up – Animal behaviour category

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After wallowing in mud, this African elephant (Loxodonta) throws dust over himself to dry off. Photographed at the Ngorongoro Crater, Republic of Tanzania. Photo by Michael Snedic/Nature TTL

Runner up – Small world category

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A micro-moth (Micropterix calthella) covered in golden balls of pollen from a creeping buttercup flower found in Mutter’s Moor near Sidmouth, Devon, UK. Photo by Tim Crabb/Nature TTL

Runner up – Landscapes category

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Lava pours out of the Fagradalsfjall Volcano, near Reykjavik, Iceland, on 17 September 2021. Photo by Marek Biegalski/Nature TTL

Runner up – Urban wildlife category

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Millions of glow worms have taken over this abandoned railway tunnel in Helensburg, Australia. Photo by Josselin Coronou/Nature TTL

Runner up – Under 16 category

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A great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) photographed on a pond near to the photographer’s home in Poznań, Poland. Photo by Maksymilian Paczkowski