WINNER
10 YEARS AND UNDER
Battle stations
EKATERINA BEE
ITALY
Ekaterina watched as two Alpine ibex sparred for supremacy. It was near the end of a spring day trip with her family that Ekaterina spotted the fight. The two ibex clashed horns and continued to trade blows while standing on their hind legs like boxers in a ring.
In the early 1800s, following centuries of hunting, fewer than 100 Alpine ibex survived in the mountains on the Italy-France border. Successful conservation measures mean that, today, there are more than 50,000.
Nikon D5600 + 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens; 1/320 sec at f9; ISO 100
WINNER
11-14 YEARS
Out of the fog
ISMAEL DOMÍNGUEZ GUTIÉRREZ
SPAIN
Ismael reveals a monochromatic scene as an osprey sits on a dead tree, waiting for the fog to lift. When he arrived at the wetland, Ismael was disappointed not to be able to see beyond a few metres – and certainly had no hope of glimpsing the grebes he wanted to photograph.
But as the fog began to lift, it revealed the opportunity for this striking composition. Ospreys are winter visitors to the province of Andalucía, whose many reservoirs offer these widespread fish‐eating raptors shallow, open water that is clearer than many rivers and lakes.
Canon EOS 7D Mark II + Tamron 100-400mm f4.5-6.3 lens; 1/8000 sec at f6.3; ISO 800; Fancier tripod
WINNER
15-17 YEARS
The beauty of baleen
KATANYOU WUTTICHAITANAKORN
THAILAND
Katanyou was intrigued by the contrasting colours and textures of a Bryde’s whale, which surfaced close by. Following government tourism guidelines, the tour boat Katanyou was travelling on turned off its engine as the whale appeared. This meant that Katanyou had to steady his hands to capture this close-up composition while the boat rocked in the swell.
Bryde’s whales have up to 370 pairs of grey-coloured plates of baleen growing inside their upper jaws. The plates are made of keratin, a protein that also forms human hair and nails, and are used to filter small prey from the ocean.
Canon EOS 90D + Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 lens; 1/6400 sec at f6.3 (-1 e/v); ISO 640
WINNER
ANIMALS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT
DANIEL MIDEROS
ECUADOR
Spectacled bear’s slim outlook
This is a poignant portrait of a disappearing habitat – and its inhabitant. Daniel set up camera traps along a wildlife corridor used to reach high-altitude plateaus. The image captures the disappearing natural landscape with the bear framed at its heart. These bears, found from western Venezuela to Bolivia, have suffered massive declines as a result of habitat fragmentation and loss.
Canon 7D Mark II + 18-55mm f3.5 lens; 1/160 sec at f14; ISO 400; 2x Nikon SB-28 flashes; Camtraptions camera-trap system
WINNER
ANIMAL PORTRAITS
Puff perfect
JOSÉ JUAN HERNÁNDEZ MARTINEZ
SPAIN
José captured the dizzying courtship display of a Canary Islands houbara. He arrived at the houbara’s courtship site at night. By the light of the moon, he dug himself a low hide, from which vantage point he caught the bird’s full puffed-out profile as it took a brief rest from its frenzied performance. The male returns to its courtship site annually to perform impressive displays. Raising the plumes from the front of its neck and throwing its head back, it will race forward and then circle back, resting for just a few seconds before starting again.
Nikon D3S + Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 lens at 600mm; 1/1000 sec at f6.3; ISO 800; Manfrotto tripod + Benro head
WINNER
BEHAVIOUR: MAMMALS
The great cliff chase
ANAND NAMBIAR
INDIA
Anand’s unusual perspective of a snow leopard charging a herd of Himalayan ibex towards a steep edge was taken from a vantage point across the ravine. The snow leopard was perfectly suited for the environment – unlike Anand, who followed a fitness regime in preparation for the high altitude and cold temperatures.
Nikon D500 + 200-500mm f5.6 lens at 500mm; 1/1600 sec at f18; ISO 400
WINNER
BEHAVIOUR: BIRDS
The listening bird
NICK KANAKIS
USA
Nick offers a glimpse into the life of a foraging young grey-breasted wood wren. Knowing the bird would disappear into the forest if approached, Nick found a clear patch of leaf litter and waited. Sure enough, the little bird hopped into the frame, pressing its ear to the ground to listen for small insects.
This prey-detecting technique is used by other birds, including the Eurasian blackbird. Greybreasted wood wrens are ground-dwelling birds, often heard but not seen. They broadcast loud, melodious songs and rasping calls while hidden in the undergrowth.
Nikon D850 + 500mm f5.6 lens; 1/160 sec at f5.6; ISO 5000
WINNER
BEHAVIOUR: AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
The bat-snatcher
FERNANDO CONSTANTINO MARTÍNEZ
MEXICO
Fernando was waiting in darkness when a Yucatan rat snake snapped up a bat. Using a red light, to which both bats and snakes are less sensitive, Fernando kept an eye on the snake poking out of a crack and had just seconds to get the shot before the snake retreated into its crevice with its prey.
Every evening at sundown in the aptly named Cave of the Hanging Snakes, thousands of bats leave for the night’s feeding. It is also when hungry rat snakes emerge, dangling from the roof to snatch their prey in mid-air.
Nikon D800 + 105mm f2.8 lens; 1/200 at f9; ISO 125; Nikon SB-700 flash; red flashlight
WINNER
BEHAVIOUR: INVERTEBRATES
The big buzz
KARINE AIGNER
USA
A group of bees compete to mate. Using a macro lens, Karine captured the flurry of activity as a buzzing ball of cactus bees spun over the hot sand. After a few minutes, the pair at its centre – a male clinging to the only female in the scrum – flew away to mate.
The world’s bees are under threat from habitat loss, pesticides and climate change. With 70 per cent of bee species nesting underground, it is increasingly important that areas of natural soil are left undisturbed.
Sony α7R III + Laowa 24mm f14 2x macro probe lens; 1/1000 sec; ISO 6400; Profoto strobe + wireless trigger
WINNER
OCEANS: THE BIGGER PICTURE
New life for the tohorā
RICHARD ROBINSON
NEW ZEALAND
Richard captures a hopeful moment for a population of whales that has survived against all odds. Hindered by poor visibility, Richard used a polecam to photograph the whales gradually moving towards his boat. Pushing his camera to its limits in the dark water, he was relieved to find the image pinsharp and the moment of copulation crystallised in time.
When ready to mate, the female southern right whale rolls onto her back, requiring the male to reach his penis across the female’s body. Known by the Māori as tohorā, the New Zealand population was hunted to near extinction in the 1800s, so every new calf offers new hope. (The image was shot under New Zealand Department of Conservation permit #84845-MAR.)
Canon EOS 5DS R + 8-15mm f4 lens at 15mm; 1/640 sec at f4; ISO 1600; Aquatica housing
WINNER
PLANTS AND FUNGI
The magical morels
AGORASTOS PAPATSANIS
GREECE
Agorastos composed this fairytale scene in the forests of Mount Olympus. Enjoying the association between fungi and fairytales, he wanted to portray a magical world. He waited for the sun to filter through the trees and light the water in the background, then used a wide-angle lens and flashes to highlight the morels’ labyrinthine forms.
Morels are regarded as gastronomic treasures in many parts of the world because they are difficult to cultivate, yet in some forests they flourish naturally.
Nikon D810 + Laowa 15mm f4 lens + polarising filter; 0.8 sec at f20; ISO 200; 2x Godox V1-N flashes; Godox XPro-N wireless trigger; Leofoto tripod
WINNER
NATURAL ARTISTRY
Heavenly flamingos
JUNJI TAKASAGO
JAPAN
Junji powered through altitude sickness to produce this dream-like scene. He crept towards the preening group of Chilean flamingos, whose reflection – and that of the fluffy clouds above – is seen on the salt pan’s surface.
High in the Andes, Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt pan. It is also one of Bolivia’s largest lithium mines, which threatens the future of these flamingos. Lithium is used in batteries for phones and laptops.
Nikon Z7 + 80-400mm f4-5.6 lens at 400mm; 1/3200 sec at f10 (+0.7 e/v); ISO 800
WINNER
UNDERWATER
Shooting star
TONY WU
USA/JAPAN
Tony caught the electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Tony faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view, in this galaxy-like scene.
The ‘dancing’ posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water.
Nikon D850 + 105mm f2.8 lens; 1/250 sec at f18; ISO 320; Nauticam housing; Backscatter Mini Flash 1 + Inon S2000 + Z240 strobes; RGBlue compact tripod
WINNER
URBAN WILDLIFE
House of bears
DMITRY KOKH
RUSSIA
Polar bears are shrouded in fog at a long-deserted settlement on Kolyuchin Island in the Chukchi Sea. On a yacht, seeking shelter from a storm, Dmitry spotted the polar bears roaming among the buildings of the longdeserted settlement. He used a low-noise drone to take a picture that conjures up a post-apocalyptic future. The normally solitary bears usually migrate further north in the summer, following the retreating sea ice they depend on for hunting seals. If loose pack ice stays near the coast of this rocky island, bears sometimes investigate.
DJI Mavic 2 Pro + Hasselblad L1D-20c + 28mm f2.8 lens; 1/160 sec at f2.8; ISO 640
WINNER
WETLANDS: THE BIGGER PICTURE
The dying lake
DANIEL NÚÑEZ
GUATEMALA
Daniel used a drone to capture the green shades of both the forest and the algal growth on Lake Amatitlán. He wanted to raise awareness of the impact of contamination on the lake, which takes in about 75,000 tonnes of waste from Guatemala City every year. “It was a sunny day with perfect conditions,” he says, “but it is a sad and shocking moment.” Cyanobacteria flourishes in the presence of pollutants such as sewage and agricultural fertilisers, forming algal blooms. Efforts to restore the Amatitlán wetland are underway but have been hampered by a lack of funding and allegations of political corruption.
DJI Mavic Mini 2 + 24mm f2.8 lens; 1/60 sec at f2.8; ISO 100
WINNER
PHOTOJOURNALISM
Ndakasi’s passing
BRENT STIRTON
SOUTH AFRICA
Brent shares the closing chapter of the story of a much-loved mountain gorilla. He photographed Ndakasi’s rescue as a two-month-old after her troop was brutally killed by a powerful charcoal mafia as a threat to park rangers. Here, he memorialised her passing as she lay in the arms of her rescuer and caregiver of 13 years, ranger Andre Bauma. As a result of unrelenting conservation efforts focusing on the daily protection of individual gorillas, mountain gorilla numbers have quadrupled to over 1,000 in the last 40 years.
Canon EOS R5 + 24-70mm 2.8 lens; 1/160 sec at f2.8; ISO 3200
WINNER
PHOTOJOURNALIST STORY AWARD
Why the caged bird sings from The Cuban Connection
KARINE AIGNER
USA
Cubans have caught and kept songbirds for bird-singing contests for hundreds of years. Here, a Cuban bullfinch is positioned alongside a road so that it becomes accustomed to the hubbub of street life and will be less likely to be distracted during a competition.
Sony α6500 + 16-70mm f4 lens at 16mm; 1/4000 sec at f5.6; ISO 800
WINNER
PORTFOLIO AWARD
Pyramid of life from Under Antarctic Ice
LAURENT BALLESTA
FRANCE
Living towers of marine invertebrates punctuate the seabed off Adelie Land, 32m below the East Antarctic ice. Here, at the centre, a tree-shaped sponge is draped with life, from giant ribbon worms to sea stars.
Nikon D810 + 13mm f2.8 lens; 1/13 sec at f16; ISO 800; Seacam housing; 2x Seacam strobes
WINNER
RISING STAR PORTFOLIO AWARD
Dunlin panorama from A Theatre of Birds
MATEUSZ PIESIAK
POLAND
Placing his remote camera on the mud of the reed bed, Mateusz seized the opportunity to capture the moment when a passing peregrine falcon caused some of the dunlins to fly up.
Canon EOS R + 14-35mm f4 lens at 14mm; 1/1000 sec at f10 (+0.7 e/v); ISO 500; wireless trigger