The winners of the fifty-sixth Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition have been revealed, with the overall prize awarded to an incredible shot of a fox and marmot facing off in a life or death moment. The impressive array of winning images affirm this long-running contest as the premiere global wildlife photography competition.
The winning image, titled The Moment, was taken by native Tibetan photographer Yongqing Bao. The impeccably timed shot preciously balances whimsy and terror as a Tibetan fox comes face to face with a marmot on the rarely photographed Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China.
“Photographically, it is quite simply the perfect moment,” says Roz Kidman Cox, chair of this year’s judging panel. “The expressive intensity of the postures holds you transfixed, and the thread of energy between the raised paws seems to hold the protagonists in perfect balance.”
The top prize for Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year went to 14 year-old Cruz Erdmann, who has already logged nearly 200 dives after receiving his diver certification at the age of 10 and quickly becoming fascinated with underwater photography. His winning shot, of a psychedelically iridescent big fin reef squid, was taken in the Lembeh Strait off North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
“To dive in the pitch dark, find this beautiful squid and to be able to photograph it so elegantly, to reveal its wonderful shapes and colors, takes so much skill,” says Theo Bosboom, a nature photographer on this year’s judging panel. “What a resounding achievement for such a young photographer.”
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. Take a look through our gallery at some of the spectacular winning images.
Source: Natural History Museum
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