2011 Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Announced

[Ripley]

The most prestigious wildlife photography awards in the world for 2011 have been announced. Last year's winner was disqualified after it was found out he used a captive, tame wolf in his photo. I try and go to see the exhibition each year when it tours Australia, as the photos are amazing blown up and they are displayed at Sydney Museum, which is within walking distance from work.

2011 Veolia/Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards

The winning images will be featured in an international exhibition beginning at the Natural History Museum, London, on Friday 21 October

Overall Winner: Still Life in Oil - Daniel Beltra (Spain)

Crude oil trickles off the feathers of the rescued brown pelicans, turning the white lining sheets into a sticky, stinking mess. The pelicans are going through the first stage of cleaning at a temporary bird-rescue facility in Fort Jackson, Louisiana. They've already been sprayed with a light oil to break up the heavy crude trapped in their feathers, which has turned their normally pale heads orange and their brown and grey feathers mahogany.

Winner - Behaviour, Mammals. Polar Power - Joe Bunni (France)

(this also won the People's Choice award). I think the look on the polar bear is priceless and love the story behind the photo

After three days on a small boat looking for polar bears in Repulse Bay, Nunavut, Canada, Joe got lucky. 'We cruised at a distance, so we didn't disturb the bear. Once we were sure it was relaxed with our presence, I slipped quietly into the water with just a mask and fins, attached to the boat by a rope.' The polar bear now started to swim towards the boat. It didn't appear to notice Joe, and for 20 minutes he was able to take photographs from the water. But then the bear caught sight of its own reflection in the dome port and swam up to Joe. 'It's amazing when a huge, powerful animal comes beside you.' It came so close that its nose touched the housing, startling it. The second after Joe took this shot, the bear reached out and touched the dome with its paw. Then it turned and swam away, leaving Joe with an unforgettable image - symbolic 'of the power and elegance of a wonderful creature struggling to survive in a fast-changing climate'.

Endangered Wildlife - Cyril Ruoso (France)

Tiny warm up

Folded up into a fur-ball, this youngster is warming its extremities in between bouts of play and feeding. He is part of a band of about 70 or so Qinling golden snub-nosed monkeys living high up in China's Qinling Mountains, surviving on lichen, leaves, bark and buds. 'If mother is not around to cuddle up to, then sitting like this is the best way to keep warm in the extreme winter cold,' says Cyril. Sitting apart from its mother also makes such a little monkey vulnerable to attack by goshawks or golden eagles. The species is endangered, and this subspecies probably numbers no more than about 4,000. The total population of all races of golden snub-nosed monkeys is only 8,000-20,000.

Winner - Plants and Fungi Sandra Bartocha (Germany)

Sandra found this delicate group in a marshy area on the shore of Lake Tollensesee in Mecklenburg, Western Pomerania, Germany, overhung with a criss-cross mass of leafless tree branches. 'The setting sun created a beautiful orange reflection on the water behind. I took an in-camera double exposure image, with one sharp exposure and then one much softer one, so the scene would appear as dreamy as it felt.'

Winner, Urban Widllife. Boy meets Nature - Alexander Badyaev (USA)

Each year, on a few warm late-summer evenings, satin moths flutter at the windows of Alex's cabin deep in the Montana wilderness. Introduced to North America with timber shipments from Europe in the 1920s, they emerge over just a few days in August and are attracted by lights. In turn, they are irresistible lures for the neighbourhood long-legged myotis bats, otherwise restricted to feeding mostly on mosquitoes and caddisflies. 'It took a couple of summers before I figured out how to photograph the scene without overpowering the warm glow from the window lamp or disturbing predators and prey,' says Alex. 'By the time I'd mastered the technical side, my 13-month-old son Victor's love of bat-watching completed the tableau. Here he's standing on his bed, spellbound by the scene unfolding before him

Winner Photojournalist category - The Price of Oil - Daniel Beltrá

Winner - Underwater category - The Grace of Giants - Paul Souders (USA)

'Even before I slid off the iceberg into the sea, my heart was racing and my lips were turning blue,' says Paul. 'I had no idea what to expect, other than that, under water, these huge masses of flesh and tusk would swim with grace and power. And that's what I wanted to show.' Paul had gone to Svalbard in Arctic Norway hoping to photograph walruses under water. He knew they could be dangerous, but he planned to appear as unthreatening as possible and hoped that the walruses would just be curious about him. The first sight of one approaching out of the gloom was the gleam of white tusk. Paul instinctively used the glass dome of his camera housing as a shield. The walrus investigated him, pressing up against the dome, while its giant herd-mates slowly circled Paul. 'Their curiosity satisfied,' says Paul, 'they moved off in search of something more entertaining than a hyperventilating photographer.'

Edited October 25, 2011 by Ripley

[Ripley]

Winner - Wild Places

Celestial Arch - Stephane Vetter (France

Stephane took 2 hours to walk to Creux du Van in western Switzerland, laden with heavy equipment. He had chosen this natural rocky amphitheatre as a grand backdrop to showcase his subject - the Milky Way. The temperature was -15°C (-5°F), but the sky was clear and there was no wind. He set up camp in the dark beside the ravine, his tripod balanced on the edge. 'The sky moves surprisingly quickly,' says Stephane, 'and I needed to be ready for the moment the Milky Way was right above the Creux du Van'. Clouds on the horizon blocked stray light from towns and villages. 'Gazing at the myriad of stars and constellations,' adds Stephane, 'it's fascinating to think that some of that light set off towards Earth millions of years ago'. He took 24 images of the vista. These were then 'stitched' to create a panoramic view, showing the celestial curve of the Milky Way complemented by the terrestrial curve of ancient rock.

Winner - Animals in their Environment

Snow Hare - Benjam Pöntinen (Finland)

Benjam always keeps his 300mm lens handy, just in case. And one day in March it paid off. Overnight, a storm had covered Lapua in thick snow. It was still snowing heavily, with big flakes. 'The thick snow muted all sounds, so everything was utterly silent,' he says. 'As I passed the hay barn, I suddenly saw movement. Then I saw the picture. I had just enough time to open the window, focus and take the shot before the hare vanished into the white. I knew then it was going to be my picture of the year.'

Winner Creative Visions of Nature

Illusion - Stefano Unterthiner (Italy)

The winter gathering of whoopers on Lake Kussharo, on Hokkaido, Japan, was a picture of chaos. The swans were constantly standing up, sitting down, heading off, interacting and calling. 'I suddenly saw that this could be the key to a completely different kind of image - one that shows the rhythms of a flock's movements,' says Stefano. He started to imagine the group of swans as one, flowing over the ice, seen at different points in time and space, and he set out to create the illusion. The swan enters lower right, wanders around a bit, sits down a few times, and exits top right - a single shot of continuous time and motion.

Winner - Animal Portraits

Sinuousness - Marco Colombo (Italy)

Nikon D700 + 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1.6 sec at f18; ISO 200; Manfrotto 190PROB tripod + 804CR2 head.

Snakes can be difficult to find and even more difficult to photograph in an attractive setting. So when Marco found this female grass snake beside a beautiful stream in Lombardy, Italy, he knew he had struck gold. The snake stayed relaxed and motionless - her head held in profile - while Marco set up his tripod to take her portrait. She was probably watching for amphibians such as frogs (grass snakes can swim) and just didn't notice the human behind her. Marco took the decision to use a slow shutter speed to capture the movement of the water. 'I was enchanted by the scene,' he says. 'The beautiful reptile, the polished pebbles, the red roots and the flowing water created the image. I merely had to look in the viewfinder and press the shutter.'

Winner - Behaviour, Birds

The Assassin - Steve Mills (UK)

Canon EOS 50D + 500mm f4 lens; 1/500 sec at f5 (+1.7 e/v); ISO 400.

A severe freeze in December 2010 caused major problems for British birds, especially those needing to feed in mud. Even secretive birds were forced into the open. Knowing any snow-free area was a precious resource, Steve located a tiny patch of exposed grass near where he lives in Whitby, North Yorkshire, and waited. Eventually a snipe emerged and began feeding frantically. 'I was only a few metres away,' says Steve. 'In normal conditions, a snipe would be more cautious.' Within a few moments, though, it had paid the ultimate price. A merlin swooped in fast and low and grabbed it in a flurry of snow. The struggle was short. The merlin pinioned the snipe, stared briefly at Steve and then killed its prey with a series of rapid blows to the head. 'The attack was so unexpected, so dramatic and so close,' says Steve, 'that I was overjoyed to find I had captured the moment, but I also felt great sympathy for the loser.

More awards and photos here. People often prefer the runners up to the winners so more photos here

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/index.jsp

Good to see an Australian receiving a Highly Commended in the Animal Portraits category with Migaloo the white humpback

Highly Commended - White Fella - Mark McCormack

Migaloo (Aboriginal for 'white fella') is the only known all-white humpback whale in the world. Marc had photographed him at sea level but knew that the way to get the perfect portrait would be from the air. He had already made three attempts, on days when the water was too rough to capture the white whale against the white-capped waves. On hearing that a tour boat had spotted Migaloo off Green Island, in the far north of Queensland, Marc chartered a helicopter to take him directly to the spot. 'On this day the water was almost smooth,' he says. 'I clicked the shutter as Migaloo took one last breath and disappeared like a giant ghost into the depths.' Migaloo belongs to the eastern Australian humpback population that is thought to total about 15,000 - still way below half the number that existed before commercial whaling began.

Edited October 25, 2011 by Ripley

[Chris the Rebel Wolf]

My pick has to be the merlin... that is a most amazing shot, though there are many lovely ones and I can't imagine the difficulties in picking the winners. The monkey is ultra cute, and the polar bear made me laugh.

It makes me sad to see the pelicans, though. I certainly am happy to see them being helped, but I don't really advocate snapping pictures of then during this time, it seems to be just another stress when they have gone through so much. I suppose I am just sad they ended up covered in oil in the first place, that the prescient exists for this photo.

[tlc]

Absolutley amazing photography, just beautiful...

[Ripley]

It makes me sad to see the pelicans, though. I certainly am happy to see them being helped, but I don't really advocate snapping pictures of then during this time, it seems to be just another stress when they have gone through so much. I suppose I am just sad they ended up covered in oil in the first place, that the prescient exists for this photo.

I saw that winning photo in the newspapers after the oil spill disaster. The photographer is a photojournalist I think - he also won that category in these awards

The judge said about the winning photo: "The chair of the judging panel, Mark Carwardine, described the image as ‘a strong environmental statement, technical perfection and a work of art all rolled into one. The sheer simplicity of this powerful image makes it really beautiful and shocking at the same time’

My favourite is this one, it's so beautiful

Runner up, Underwater category

Night Sharks - Thomas Peter Peschak (Germany/South Africa)

Light shining into the depths of the lagoon of Bassas da India, a remote atoll in the Mozambique Channel, reveals a gathering of juvenile Galapagos sharks. The light is from a spotlight on a research boat above, which is being used to illuminate the reef so that the divers can see what's going on. Thomas was part of the expedition to census the population of this vulnerable species. 'Not having to use underwater strobes or a flash,' he says, 'meant it was possible to convey a sense of the nocturnal scene.' This lagoon is one of the few places where the Galapagos shark is found beyond the Pacific and is the only known ocean nursery for it, with schools of 50 or more occurring

and I like this one because of the beautiful backlighting

Urban Widlife, Highly Commended

On the tracks of a Coyote - Martin Cooper (Canada)

This stretch of railway track in Burnaby, British Columbia, is Martin's favourite spot for photographing local wildlife. And autumn, with its beautiful, mellow light, is his favourite season to be there. One October dawn, while Martin was sitting on the embankment waiting for a beaver to reappear from a culvert, a coyote came out of the undergrowth a short distance down the track and started sniffing around for signs of rodents. 'At that moment, I knew the backlit shot I wanted,' says Martin. Slowly moving onto the track, he lay down on the ballast and waited, pressing the shutter as the coyote turned its head to look up at the sky.

eta: Actually the monkey was runner up in Endangered Wildlife category. Sorry, my error. This was the winning photo

Taking Off - Peter Chadwick (South Africa)

With space at a premium, the normally territorial African black oystercatchers on Malgas Island, South Africa, are forced to congregate when feeding on the rocky shore. It's a time of intense social interaction, different breeding pairs flying in to claim their turn at the seaside table, prising shellfish off the rocks both to eat and to take back for their chicks. All the while, they keep an eye on the waves. 'They usually know exactly when to run from a crashing wave,' says Peter, 'but this wave seemed to take them by surprise'. Found only along the coastline of southern Africa, the charismatic species is the subject of a conservation success story. Back in the 1980s, numbers had declined to some 4,500 birds, mainly because their breeding beaches are also where humans with their dogs and off-road vehicles go, resulting in the death of many of the chicks. But though the species remains near-threatened, protection from disturbance in the breeding season has resulted in an increase in numbers to about 6,000.

Nikon D300S + 500mm f4 lens; 1/1600 sec at f8; ISO 640; Manfrotto tripod.

Really like this one as it has an art deco look about it. How sad that some idiot weed killed the lot of them

Runner up - Plants category, Fading Beauty - David Maitland (UK)

Canon EOS 5D Mark II + 70-200mm f2.8 lens; 1/160 sec at f11; ISO 50.

On a car-park embankment near David's home in Wiltshire, a mass of poppies appeared one day. 'I love poppies,' he says, 'and I can't resist photographing them. It's hard to think of another plant that's so fleetingly beautiful . . . But when poppies flower en masse, it's almost too much, and it's hard to capture the ephemeral nature of their beauty.' For a week he checked on the patch every day, looking for a particular grouping. 'I wanted an image of simplicity - mostly of spent seedheads, with just a few poppies still in full bloom,' he explains. From a prone position, he shot them against an overcast sky to create an architecture of stems 'with little flashes of brilliance'. Three days later, someone 'weed-killered the lot,' he says. 'Most hadn't set seed. So there'll be no poppy meadow there next year.'

Edited October 25, 2011 by Ripley

[persephone]

Thankyou, thankyou for posting this I never think to look

*sigh*

[CBL]

Wow! Just wow! They are amazing photographs!

[Cat]

Lovely photos. I look forward to when they do their tour.

Edited October 27, 2011 by Cat

[pie]

Wow some real breathtaking images there - incredible stuff!!!

[CrazyCresties]

Thanks for posting these Ripley - stunning photos I've been following this comp for about 20 odd years now and always look forward to the results

I love this one of the spiders, beautiful pastel colours and such a fleeting moment.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/photo.do?photo=2725&category=4&group=1

eta - the little monkey is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen :D

Edited October 27, 2011 by CrazyCresties

[Clicking Mad]

wow! thanks for sharing Ripley :D