In a competition celebrating the diversity of life on Earth, the top shot looks like it belongs on another planet.
From 50,000 images - showing unique windows into the wildlife of 95 different countries - the winners have been selected for one of the world’s most prestigious photography awards. It is the largest open photography competition of its kind.
French marine biologist Laurent Ballesta has been named Wildlife Photographer of the Year for a second time. The winning photo titled The golden horseshoe proved to be a lucky one. He is only the second photographer in the competition’s 59-year history to win more than once.
After taking the title in 2021, the photo of a rare tri-spined horseshoe, joined by three golden trevally, won Ballesta the coveted Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 again.
Jury chairwoman Kathy Moran described the crab as “hauntingly beautiful,” and something few people see in its natural habitat.
“We are looking at an ancient species, highly endangered, and also critical to human health. This photo is luminescent.”
Older than the dinosaurs, and unchanged in 100 million years the species has blue copper blood that has been used for vaccine development. The Natural History Museum said that the strange-looking blood has an ingredient that pharmaceutical companies use to test vaccines for contamination, and in some parts of the world this had led them to be driven close to extinction.
Israeli photographer Carmel Bechler was named Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his snapshot of a pair of barn owls, illuminated in a roadside building.
Hard to spot at first, judges praised the many layers captured by the image.
Judge Moran said it covered topics of “habitat destruction” and “adaptation” perfectly.
“The natural world is all around us, even in places where we least expect it to be,” said the 17-year-old competition winner. “We just need to open our eyes and our minds.”
These two grand-title winners were chosen from 19 individual category winners.
Director of the Natural History Museum, Dr Doug Gurr, said it was important not only to show untouched nature but the human impact on the living world.
“This year’s winning images present compelling evidence of our impact on nature – both positive and negative.”
The exhibition of 59th Annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year opens this weekend on Friday, October 13, at the museum in Kensington, before going on a worldwide tour - arriving in Auckland Museum for December 9, 2023 to April 29, 2024.
Approaching the 60th year the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards are held by the Natural History Museum in London. Ahead of the milestone for the international awards, the Natural History Museum has waived entry fees for submissions from 100 countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. There will also be a number of additional categories and changes to the format for the open competition which invites photographers to submit their best images of all creatures, great and small.
Submissions open on Monday, October 16 for next year’s bumper edition: nhm.ac.uk/wpy
