Last Updated on 10/10/2023 by Chris Gampat
If you’re in need of some inspiration to pick up your gear and head out to the closest natural park, you’re in luck, as the London-based ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ awards have just revealed their 2023 winners. And if you’re in need of some encouragement? Well, they’re about to open the submissions for their next edition! Let’s take a look at the pics that made the cut because there are some really interesting snaps in here!
Laurent Ballesta, twice a winner
Laurent Ballesta is a French underwater photographer and marine biologist, and he’s been awarded the Grand Title for The Ancient Mariner, a hauntingly alien image of a tri-spine horseshoe crab escorted by a trio of golden trevallies.
Laurent is also the second person in the history of these awards to win said Grand Title twice; his first award was in 2021 for an intriguing image of camouflage groupers exiting a milky cloud of eggs and sperm in Fakarava, in the French Polynesia.
The tri-spine horseshoe crab has survived for more than a hundred million years without much of an evolution, but right now it’s facing the destruction of its habitat due to overfishing; its blood is practically essential to the modern pharmaceutical industry. Thankfully, there’s hope for its survival in the protected waters of Pangatalan Island, in the Philippines.
The image appears otherworldly, alien-like, worthy of a classic sci-fi movie. The crab, gliding on the abyssal depths, followed by the little escorts poised to dart for whatever edible morsel is disturbed by its wake. The fact that this is an endangered animal is just the cherry on top of this wonderful picture.
Kathy Moran, chair of the jury, says, “To see a horseshoe crab so vibrantly alive in its natural habitat, in such a hauntingly beautiful way, was astonishing. We are looking at an ancient species, highly endangered and critical to human health. This photo is luminescent.”
Carmel Bechler, promising youth
Carmel Bechler, a 17-year-old photographer who’s been dabbling in wildlife photography since he was eleven, discovered several barn owls living in a concrete building near a busy road. He and his father drove down to the area, and they used the family car as a hide.
Using natural light and long exposures to capture the passing traffic, he managed to capture something that should teach us a lesson or two about adaptation and compromise.
The under seventeen Category
I know, I know. Kids these days are born with a phone in their hands, an uncanny ability to take pictures in the damnedest of moments, a very helpful curiosity and an angle most of us forget once we’re well past puberty.
Nevertheless, the fact that there are kids as talented as this boggles the mind and gives me hope for the future.
Vihaan Talya Vikas, a ten year old photographer, watches as an ornamental tree trunk spider prevents its prey from escaping. Fascinated by stories of Krishna, the Hindu god, it seemed to Vihaan as if the spider had positioned its trap after being entranced by the sound of Krishna’s flute.
The ADULT CATEGORIES
In the other categories we can find some incredible images.
The facts
These nineteen pictures were selected among 49,957 entries from 95 different countries and revealed as winners at an awards ceremony in South Kensington today.
The exhibition at the National History Museum in London will be open from October 13 to June 30 — giving you an ample chance to see these pictures in all their glory if you happen to be near the city.
The next competition will be open for submissions from October 16 to December 7 (11:30 AM GMT), for a small fee; £30 per 25 images, increased to £35 in the final week and waived for participants living in Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. Kids under 17 can enter up to 10 images for free.