The public is invited to vote for their favorite image in the People’s Choice Award in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year. For the first time, the public can vote for their favorite using interactive screens located inside the newly designed Wildlife Photographer of the Year flagship exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London.
From a pair of red foxes sharing an intimate nuzzle, to a polar bear cub basking in a sea of flowers, 25 incredible images have been shortlisted that spotlight important stories of nature from across the globe. Photographs were chosen from 38,575 entries across 93 countries and include a portrait of a characterful pregnant pygmy seahorse by Nicholas More, and Michał Michlewicz’s story revealing the impact of domesticated cats on local wildlife.
The annual competition holds a strong place in my heart. As a child, my father and I used to visit the exhibition to look at the winning images. I was always in awe of the beauty of the wildlife on display and the ability of the photographers who captured them. Here are my personal favorites from the 25 shortlisted.
“Coastline wolf” by Bertie Gregory, UK / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
While out in his dinghy looking for black bears, Bertie spotted this female grey wolf trotting along the shoreline on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Colombia, Canada. Taking a big wide arch, he looped around ahead of where he expected her to go. He then set up his remote camera, before getting back in the dinghy and backing off. The wolf was patrolling her eel-grass-covered mudflat territory at low tide, and walked right past the camera, allowing Bertie to take this shot with the remote trigger. Sadly, this Vancouver Island wolf was later killed by a man who claimed to be protecting people’s pets. Location: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada Technical details: Nikon D300 + 10–20mm f4.5–5.6 lens at 12mm; 1/400 sec at f9; ISO 400; Pocket Wizard wireless trigger; custom-made protective camera housing
“Fox affection” by Brittany Crossman, Canada / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
On a chilly day in North Shore on Prince Edward Island, Canada, a pair of red foxes, greet one another with an intimate nuzzle. The red fox’s mating season is in the winter, and it is not uncommon to see them together prior to denning. This special moment is one of Brittany’s favourite images and one of the tenderest moments she has witnessed between adult foxes. Location: North Shore, Prince Edward Island, Canada Technical details: Canon 5D Mark IV + 500mm lens; 1/1600 sec at f7.1; ISO 2000
“Caribbean crèche” by Claudio Contreras Koob, Mexico / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Claudio was lying down on the mud a safe distance from a breeding colony of Caribbean, or American, flamingos, in Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. It was June and the flamingo chicks had already left their nests and were in crèches. These crèches are always guarded by adult birds, so when the chicks began to approach Claudio, the adults surrounded them and gently headed them back into the colony. Although flamingo population numbers are stable, they are highly sensitive to changes in the environment, such as flooding of their nesting sites, and it is unclear how they will cope with the effects of climate change. Location: Ria Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, Yucatan, Mexico Technical details: Canon EOS 5D Mark II + 300mm f2.8 lens + 2x teleconverter; 1/400 sec at f11; ISO 1600
“Life and art” by Eduardo Blanco Mendizabal, Spain / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Walking down a street in his hometown of Corella in northern Spain, Eduardo came across a wall with a grafitti cat, complete with shadow. Knowing that common wall geckos emerge on hot summer nights to look for mosquitoes and other insects, Eduardo came back with his camera and waited patiently for the perfect picture – the hunter becoming prey to the trompe l’oeil cat. Location: Corella, Navarre, Spain Technical details: Canon R5 + 100-400mm lens; 1/30 sec at f5.6; ISO 6400; tripod
“Holding on” by Igor Altuna, Spain / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This leopardess had killed a Kinda baboon in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park. The baboon’s baby was still alive and clinging to its mother. Igor watched as the predator walked calmly back to her own baby. Her cub played with the baby baboon for more than an hour before killing it, almost as if it had been given live prey as a hunting lesson. Location: South Luangwa National Park, Zambia Technical details: Canon EOS-1D X Mark III + 600 mm f4 lens; 1/2500 sec at f4; ISO 800
“Among the flowers” by Martin Gregus, Canada / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Martin watched this polar bear cub playing in a mass of fireweed on the coast of Hudson Bay, Canada. Every so often the cub would take a break from its fun, stand on its hind legs and poke its head up above the high flowers to look for its mother. Wanting to capture the world from the cub’s angle, Martin placed his camera – in an underwater housing, for protection against investigating bears – at ground level among the fireweed. He then waited patiently a safe distance away with a remote trigger. Not being able to see exactly what was happening, Martin had to judge just the right moment when the bear would pop up in the camera frame. Location: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada Technical details: Nikon D850 + 14–24mm lens; 1/640 at f6.3; ISO 100; Aquatech housing; pocket wizard trigger
“A golden huddle” by Minqiang Lu, China / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Two females and a male golden snub-nosed monkey huddle together to keep warm in the extreme winter cold. Threatened mainly by forest loss and fragmentation, this endangered species is confined to central China. Restricted to living high up in the temperate forests, these monkeys – here in the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi province – feed mostly in the trees, on leaves, bark, buds and lichen. Minqiang knew the area where a troop of monkeys often rested and, in heavy wind and snow, he walked up the mountain for almost an hour carrying his photographic equipment. Photographing from a slope opposite the tree in which the group was huddled, he stayed put for half an hour in temperatures of -10°C (14°F) before he was able to achieve this eye-level composition. Technical details: Canon EOS-1DX Mark II + 70–200mm f2.8 lens; 1/800 sec at f4; ISO 320; tripod
“A tight grip” by Nicholas More, UK / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This male Bargibant’s seahorse, gripping tightly with his prehensile tail to a pink sea fan, looks almost ready to pop. He will gestate for a period of approximately two weeks before giving birth to miniature live young. Nicholas had the help of a guide who knew exactly where off the coast of Bali and on which sea fans to find Bargibant’s seahorses. This individual was one of three on the same sea-fan. Bargibant’s seahorses are barely visible due to their tiny size (1–2 centimetres tall – ¼ to ¾ inch) and tend to stay very still. Their ability to mimic their host’s colours and knobbly texture is only revealed in detail under high magnification. Location: Bali Sea, Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia Technical details: Nikon D500 + Micro Nikkor 60mm f2.8 lens; 1/320 sec at f11; ISO 100; Nauticam housing + CMC-1 Macro Converter; 2x Inon Z240 strobes
“World of the snow leopard” by Sascha Fonseca, Germany / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Against a backdrop of the spectacular mountains of Ladakh in northern India, a snow leopard has been caught in a perfect pose by Sascha’s carefully positioned camera trap. Thick snow blankets the ground, but the big cat’s dense coat and furry footpads keep it warm. Sascha captured this image during a three-year bait-free camera-trap project high up in the Indian Himalayas. He has always been fascinated by snow leopards, not only because of their incredible stealth but also because of their remote environment, making them one of the most difficult large cats to photograph in the wild. Location: Leh, Ladakh, India Technical details: Canon EOS 5DS + 24mm f2.8 lens; 1/200 sec at f8; ISO 400; Nikon SB28 flash; Camtraptions wireless triggers
“A fox’s tale” by Simon Withyman, UK / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Simon wanted this photograph to raise awareness of the harm humans can inadvertently cause to wildlife. In the UK city of Bristol, a young red fox sustained a serious injury trying to free herself from plastic barrier netting commonly used as fencing on building sites. The remains were still embedded in her body when this image was taken, hindering her ability to hunt. Local residents left out food for the vixen – here, a chicken leg. After five months, she was caught, treated and released. But tragically, six months later, she was hit by a car and died. Location: Bristol, UK Technical details: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 16–35mm lens at 16mm; 0.3 seconds at f9; ISO 2500; 2x Profoto A1 flash; Hama wireless remote control
You can see all of the 25 shortlisted images and vote for your favourite to win the People’s Choice Award here. Voting ends on February 2nd 2023.
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