This year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year winner is both incredibly beautiful and utterly strange
A beautiful and whimsical portrait of a three-spined horseshoe crab gliding gently to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean has helped a Frenchman win the coveted Wildlife Photographer of the Year title for a historic second time.
The international competition run by the Natural History Museum looks at entries that showcase some of the most spectacular images of the natural world – captured in high definition and brilliant colour.
Laurent Ballesta, an underwater photographer and marine biologist, found the horseshoe crab – which dates back to prehistoric times – in the waters off Pangatalan Island in the Philippines.
He is accompanied on the winning shot by three dazzlingly bright golden trevally fish, which appear to chase happily over the deep sea creature, which leaves clouds of sand in its wake.
Kath Moran, chair of the judging panel, described the winning photo as ‘luminescent’.
She said: “To see a horseshoe crab alive in its natural habitat, in such a beautiful way, was breathtaking.
Laurent Ballesta, an underwater photographer and marine biologist from France, has won the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year award after capturing this image of a horseshoe crab in the waters off Pangatalan Island in the Philippines.
‘Whales making waves’, a pod of orcas as they prepare to ‘wave wash’ a Weddell seal in the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, by Bertie Gregory, UK
‘Hippo nursery’, a hippopotamus and her two offspring resting in the shallow clear water lake at Kosi Bay, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa, by Mike Korostelev, from Russia
‘Life on the Edge’, of two Nubian goats in the Zin Desert, Israel, by Amit Eshel, Israel
‘Alpine exposure’, of an idol in the snow in Vercors Regional Natural Park, Rhone-Alpes, France by Luca Melcarne, from France
‘Snake show silence’, of gray-winged trumpeters watching a boa glide at the Guiana Space Center, between Kourou and Sinnamary, French Guiana, by Hadrien Lalague, of France
“We’re looking at an ancient species, highly endangered and also critical to human health.”
Mr. Ballesta is only the second person to win the competition twice in its 59-year history.
His first prize was in 2021 for a photograph of grouper camouflage fish in an egg and sperm gyre in Fakarava, French Polynesia.
The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award went to Carmel Bechler of Israel, for snapping several barn owls in a hollow concrete building by the side of the road.
He used his family’s car as a long exposure shelter to capture the faint traces of passing traffic.
The 17-year-old said: “I hope to share through my photography that the beauty of the natural world is all around us, even in the places we least expect it to be – we just have to open our eyes and minds. ‘
The winning photographs were selected from 49,957 original entries from 95 countries and announced at an awards ceremony in South Kensington on Tuesday.
Among the 17 other category winners was an orca beached in the Netherlands photographed by Lennart Verheuvel, which was later found to be malnourished and sick, likely from PCB contamination.
‘Wall of wonder’, of a decorative tree trunk spider prevents its prey from escaping at Nallur Heritage Tamarind Grove, Karnataka, India, by Vihaan Talya Vikas, from India
‘Terri’s Banquet’, toads feasting on a dead newborn sparrow in Ojen, Malaga, Spain, by Juan Jesus Gonzalez Ahumada, from Spain
‘Owls’ road house’, in Hof HaSharon, Israel, by 17-year-old Carmel Bechler, from Israel, won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.
Forest face of a plains tapir at Tapirai, Sao Paulo, Brazil, India, by Vishnu Gopal, from India
‘Fantastic lights’, of a night sky and forest lit up with fireworks in Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India, by Sriram Murali, of India
Vulnerable, contestants lined up to weigh their cats in the March 2022 West Texas Big Bobcat Contest by Karine Aigner, USA
‘The last gassing’ of an orca beached at Cadzand-Bad, Zeeland, The Netherlands by Lennart Verheuvel, from The Netherlands
‘Birds of the midnight sun’, illuminated kittiwakes in an abandoned factory in Vardo, Troms og Finnmark, Norway, by Knut-Sverre Horn, of Norway
“Dead River”, he polluted the Ciliwung River that winds through Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, by Joan de la Malla, from Spain
‘The Art of Friendship’, of a pair of jackdaws at Noss National Nature Reserve, Shetland, by Rachel Bigsby, UK
‘Bulldozer of tourism’, of the route of a new tourist railway line in Paamul, Quintana Roo, Mexico, by Fernando Constantino Martinez Belmar, of Mexico
‘Last breath of autumn’, of a mushroom releasing its spores in the forest on Mount Olympus, Pieria, Greece, by Agorastos Papatsanis, of Greece
Horseshoe crabs have survived for more than 100 million years, but they now face habitat destruction and overfishing as they are hunted for food and for their blue blood, which is used in vaccines.
Poisoning by this industrial chemical is common in European waters, despite the chemical being banned decades ago. Its unique characteristics mean that it is built up through the food chain.
Agorastos Papatsanis discovered how the umbrella mushroom releases its spores so that they move on air currents in search of new places to grow in his native Greece, on Mount Olympus, by capturing the colorful refraction of light through rain.
An Illuminated Forest in Tamil Nadu, India won the ‘Behaviour: Invertebrates’ award, with Sriram Murali showing how fireflies attract mates by combining 50 exposures of 19 seconds with 16 minutes of beetle bioluminescence.
Two Nubian goat horns locked in a fight on the side of a cliff in Israel were captured by Amit Eshel as he approached the fighting males, who butted their heads together during the mating season in a contest of physical skills.
Dr Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, said: “While inspiring absolute awe and wonder, this year’s winning images present compelling evidence of our impact on nature – both positive and negative.
“Global pledges must translate into action to turn the tide on nature’s decline.”
Next year, the Natural History Museum will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award with new awards and removal fees for more than 100 countries. Submissions are open from October 16.
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