2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year LUMIX People’s Choice Award Shortlist
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year has been running for fifty four years now. Created and operated by the Natural History Museum, the competition is meant to ‘showcase the world’s best nature photography.’
As part of its LUMIX People’s Choice Award, the Natural History Museum has released a shortlist of 25 images that showcase some of the best images to be submitted thus far — more than 45,000 in total from professionals and amateurs across the globe.
Voting for the LUMIX People’s Choice Award is open through Monday, February 5th, 2019 on the Natural History Museum website. An accompanying exhibition of entries is open at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington through June 30th, 2019. Tickets cost at £8 for children, £13.50 for adults and between £28-£38 for families.
DPReview has compiled the shortlist photos in addition to the captions from the artists behind the photographs.
Above: Isolated by Anna Henly, UK
Snapped from a helicopter, this isolated tree stands in a cultivated field on the edge of a tropical forest on Kauai, Hawaii. The manmade straight lines of the ploughed furrows are interrupted beautifully by nature’s more unruly wild pattern of tree branches.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II + EF70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM lens used at 130mm; 1/2500 sec at f2.8; ISO 400.
Ice and Water by Audun Lie Dahl, Norway
The Bråsvellbreen glacier moves southwards from one of the ice caps covering the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. Where it meets the sea, the glacier wall is so high that only the waterfalls are visible, so Audun used a drone to capture this unique perspective.
DJI Phantom 4 pro + 24mm lens; 1/120 sec at f 6.3; ISO 100. Panorama of 3 images.
Family Portrait by Conner Stefanison, Canada
A great grey owl and her chicks sit in their nest in the broken top of a Douglas fir tree in Kamloops, Canada. They looked towards Connor only twice as he watched them during the nesting season from a tree hide 50 feet (15 metres) up.
Canon 1D Mark IV + Canon 500mm f4 IS lens; 1/200 sec at f7.1; ISO 1250; Manfrotto monopod.
Curious Encounter by Cristonbal Serrano, Spain
Any close encounter with an animal in the vast wilderness of Antarctica happens by chance, so Cristobal was thrilled by this spontaneous meeting with a crabeater seal off of Cuverville Island, Antarctic Peninsula. These curious creatures are protected and, with few predators, thrive.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + Canon EF 8-15mm f4L Fisheye USM lens; 1/250 sec at f8; ISO 160; Seacam housing and flash.
Bond of Brothers by David Lloyd, New Zealand/UK
These two adult males, probably brothers, greeted and rubbed faces for 30 seconds before settling down. Most people never have the opportunity to witness such animal sentience, and David was honoured to have experienced and captured such a moment.
Nikon D800E + 400mm f/2.8 lens; 1/500th sec at f4.8, ISO 500.
Clam Close-up by David Barrio, Spain
This macro-shot of an iridescent clam was taken in the Southern Red Sea, Marsa Alam, Egypt. These clams spend their lives embedded amongst stony corals, where they nest and grow. It took David some time to approach the clam, fearing it would sense his movements and snap shut!
Nikon D7100-105mm lens + Saga 10 diopters wet lens; 1/180 sec at f27; ISO 200; Isotta housing; 2xStrobes.
Painted Waterfall by Eduardo Blanco Mendizabal, Spain
When the sun beams through a hole in the rock at the foot of the La Foradada waterfall, Catalonia, Spain, it creates a beautiful pool of light. The rays appear to paint the spray of the waterfall and create a truly magical picture.
Canon 5D Mark III + 24-105mm f.4 lens; 30 sec at f9; grey neutral filter, tripod.
Ambush by Federico Veronesi, Kenya
On a hot morning at the Chitake Springs, in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe, Federico watched as an old lioness descended from the top of the riverbank. She’d been lying in wait to ambush any passing animals visiting a nearby waterhole further along the riverbed.
Nikon D810 + 400mm f2.8 lens; 1/1000 sec at f5 (-1e/v); ISO 140.
Teenager by Franco Banfi, Switzerland
Franco was free diving off Dominica in the Caribbean Sea when he witnessed this young male sperm whale trying to copulate with a female. Unfortunately for him her calf was always in the way and the frisky male had to continually chase off the troublesome calf.
Canon 1DX Mark II + 8-15mm f/4 lens; 1/100 sec at f16; ISO 640; Seacam housing.
Resting Mountain Gorilla by David Lloyd
The baby gorilla clung to its mother whilst keeping a curious eye on David. He had been trekking in South Bwindi, Uganda, when he came across the whole family. Following them, they then stopped in a small clearing to relax and groom each other.
Fox Meets Fox by Matthew Maran, UK
Matthew has been photographing foxes close to his home in north London for over a year and ever since spotting this street art had dreamt of capturing this image. After countless hours and many failed attempts his persistence paid off.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 70-200mm f2.8 IS II USM lens; 1/500 sec at f4.0; ISO 800.
Shy by Pedro Carrillo, Spain
The mesmerizing pattern of a beaded sand anemone beautifully frames a juvenile Clarkii clownfish in Lembeh strait, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Known as a ‘nursery’ anemone, it is often a temporary home for young clownfish until they find a more suitable host anemone for adulthood.
Nikon D4 +Nikkor 70-180mm f4.5-5.6 D ED AF Micro lens at 78mm; 1/250 sec at f16; ISO 100; Seacam housing; two Seacam Seaflash 150TTL.
The Extraction by Konstantin Shatenev, Russia
Every winter, hundreds of Steller’s sea eagles migrate from Russia, to the relatively ice-free northeastern coast of Hokkaido, Japan. They hunt for fish among the ices floes and also scavenge, following the fishing boats to feed on any discards. Konstantin took his image from a boat as the eagles retrieved a dead fish thrown onto the ice.
Canon1DX + EF300 f4IS USM lens; 1/1250 sec at f13; ISO800.
Otherworldly by Franco Banfi, Switzerland
A school of Munk’s devil ray were feeding on plankton at night off the coast of Isla Espíritu Santo in Baja California, Mexico. Franco used the underwater lights from his boat and a long exposure to create this otherworldly image.
Canon 5DS + 8-15mm f/4 lens; 1/4 sec at f11; ISO 160; Isotta housing; Seacam Seaflash 150; two strobes.
The Orphaned Beaver by Suzi Eszterhas, United States
A one-month-old orphaned North American beaver kit is held by a caretaker at the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington, Washington. Luckily it was paired with a female beaver who took on the role of mother and they were later released into the wild.
Canon 1DX + 24-70mm f2.8 lens; 1/200 sec at f3.5; ISO 1600.
Red, Silver and Black by Tin Man Lee, USA
Tin was fortunate enough to be told about a fox den in Washington State, North America, which was home to a family of red, black and silver foxes. After days of waiting for good weather he was finally rewarded with this touching moment.
Canon 1DX Mark II +600mm f4 lens; 1.4x teleconverter; 1/1600 sec at f11; ISO 2000.
Sound Asleep by Tony Wu, USA
This adult humpback whale balanced in mid-water, headon and sound asleep was photographed in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga. The faint stream of bubbles, visible at the top, is coming from the whale’s two blowholes and was, in this instance, indicative of an extremely relaxed state.
Canon 5D Mark III + Canon 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens; 1/200 sec at f10; ISO640; Zillion housing; Pro-One dome port.
Three Kings by Wim Can Den Heever, South Africa
Wim came across these king penguins on a beach in the Falkland Islands just as the sun was rising. They were caught up in a fascinating mating behaviour – the two males were constantly moving around the female using their flippers to fend the other off.
Nikon D810 + Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 lens at 40mm; 1/250sec at f11; Nikon SB910 flash.
All That Remains by Phil Jones, UK
A male orca had beached itself about a week before Phil’s visit to Sea Lion Island, Falkland Islands. Despite its huge size the shifting sands had almost covered the whole carcass and scavengers, such as this striated caracara, had started to move in.
Canon 1Dx Mark I + Canon 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens; 1/1250 sec at f16; ISO 1600; Joby gorillapod; Hahnel wireless remote shutter release.
Gliding by Christian Vizl, Mexico
With conditions of perfect visibility and beautiful sunlight, Christian took this portrait of a nurse shark gliding through the ocean off the coast of Bimini in the Bahamas. Typically these sharks are found near sandy bottoms where they rest, so it’s rare to see them swimming.
Canon 5D Mark II + 16-35mm f2.8 lens; 1/200 sec at f9; ISO 200; Aquatica housing.
A Polar Bear’s Struggle by Justin Hofman, USA
Justin’s whole body pained as he watched this starving polar bear at an abandoned hunter’s camp, in the Canadian Arctic, slowly heave itself up to standing. With little, and thinning, ice to move around on, the bear is unable to search for food.
Sony a7R II + Sony FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens; 1/200 sec at f10; ISO 800.
Unique Bill by Rob Blanken, The Netherlands
The pied avocet has a unique and delicate bill, which it sweeps like a scythe, as it sifts for food in shallow brackish water. This stunning portrait was taken from a hide in the northern province of Friesland in The Netherlands.
Nikon D500 + AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f1:5.6 E ED lens at 250mm; 1/200 sec at f6 (+ 2 2/3); ISO 800.
One Toy, Three Dogs by Bence Mate, Hungary
While adult African wild dogs are merciless killers, their pups are extremely cute and play all day long. Bence photographed these brothers in Mkuze, South Africa – they all wanted to play with the leg of an impala and were trying to drag it in three different directions!
Canon EOS-1DX Mark II; 200-400mm lens (35mm equivalent: 197.2-394.3 mm); 1/1800 sec at f4.0; 4000 ISO.
Under the Snow by Audren Morel, France
Unafraid of the snowy blizzard, this squirrel came to visit Audren as he was taking photographs of birds in the small Jura village of Les Fourgs, France. Impressed by the squirrel’s endurance, he made it the subject of the shoot.
Nikon D7200 + Nikon 300mm f4 lens; 1/1600 sec at f4 (-0.7e/v); ISO 500.
A Bat’s Wake by Antonio Leiva Sanchez, Spain
After several months of field research into a little colony of greater mouse-eared bats in Sucs, Lleida, Spain, Antonio managed to capture this bat mid-flight. He used a technique of high speed photography with flashes combined with continuous light to create the ‘wake’.
Canon7D Mark II + Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 lens; 1/13 sec at f10; ISO 200; Infrared barrier; Metz 58 AF-1 flash; E-TTL flash cable.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
