Meet Carlos Naval: The 9 Year Old Prodigy Recently Crowned Wildlife Photographer Of The Year

Stinger In The Sun; photo by Carlos Perez Naval

A nine year old boy from Spain took the top honors in the youth division of the 2014 Natural History Museum and BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which celebrated it’s 50th anniversary this year.  Carlos Perez Naval, stole the show when his exceptional photo, “Stinger In The Sun” not only earned the young photographer a 1st place finish in the 10 and under division, but also garnered him the prestigious title of Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, for which he handily edged out photographers nearly twice his age.

Some of Carlos’ photos are taken during his extensive travels with his parents, Eva Navel & Rodrigo Pérez and it’s apparent that his love of photography is with him wherever he goes. When he isn’t in search of tigers in India or black bears in western parts of the United States, Carlos is able to find plenty of inspiration right in his own backyard.

Carlos also appears to have one of the key ingredients it takes to be a wildlife photographer: fearlessness. Browsing through the images on his website, we’re treated to behind the scenes shots of Carlos diligently snapping photos of bears, tigers, snakes, and a plethora of other wildlife which are sometimes just meters away.

Take a look at a sample of his work below, then be sure to head over to his website to learn more about the gifted young man.

Photo by Carlos Perez Naval

Photo by Carlos Perez Naval

Photo by Carlos Perez Naval

Photo by Carlos Perez Naval

The photographer at work. (Photo courtesy of Eva Naval and Rodrigo Pérez)

Photo by Carlos Perez Naval

Photo by Carlos Perez Naval

Carlos photographing tigers in India. (Photo courtesy of Eva Naval and Rodrigo Pérez)

And in case you wondering what kind of gear was used in the winning image, Carlos, who has been photographing since he was 5 years old, called on his Nikon D300 with an 28–300mm lens at 105 mm. His exposure settings were 1/320 second at f10 with an ISO of 320.

[ Carlos Perez Naval via BoredPanda ]