The winners of the famous Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were revealed at an awards ceremony in London.
American photographer Karine Aigner was announced as this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year for her remarkable image of a buzzing ball of cactus bees spinning over the hot sand on a Texas ranch (top image).
All but one of the insects in her bee-level close-up are males, and they are all eager to mate with the lone female in the center. They face the same threats as most bee species, including habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, and farming practices that disturb their nesting grounds.
Karine is just the sixth woman to get the Grand Title prize in the competition’s 58-year history. Chair of the jury, writer, and former BBC Wildlife editor, Rosamund ‘Roz’ Kidman Cox OBE said, “Wings-whirring, incoming males home in on the ball of buzzing bees that is rolling straight into the picture. The sense of movement and intensity is shown at bee-level magnification and transforms what are little cactus bees into big competitors for a single female.”
The NHM, London, is the organization that creates and produces Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The exhibit debuts in the museum on Friday, October 15, 2022, before going on the UK and international tour.
1. Animals in their Environment winner
Daniel Mideros captures a moving image of an eroding habitat and its occupant. Along a wildlife corridor used to access high-elevation plateaus, Daniel installed camera traps. He set up the cameras to capture the bear in the foreground of the vanishing natural landscape.
Due to habitat loss and fragmentation, the population of these bears, which can be found from western Venezuela to Bolivia, has drastically decreased. As people continue to build and cultivate the land around the world, there is less and less room for wildlife.
Location: Peñas Blancas, Quito, Ecuador
Animal portraits winner
José Juan Hernández Martinez sees a Canary Islands houbara perform a dazzling courtship ritual.
José arrived in the evening at the houbara’s courtship location. He dug himself a low hide by the moonlight. He saw the bird’s entire puffed-out profile from this angle as it briefly rested from its frenetic performance. A houbara male from the Canary Islands returns yearly to its place of courtship to put on impressive displays.
It will sprint forward before turning around and resting for only a few seconds before starting again, raising the plumes from the front of its neck, and throwing its head back.
Location: La Oliva, Fuerteventura, Spain
Behavior: Birds winner
Nick Kanakis gets a peek into the wrens’ secret domain. The immature grey-breasted wood wren was foraging when he noticed it. He selected a spot of open leaf litter and waited there knowing that if he approached it, it would disappear into the forest. The tiny bird hopped into the frame and, sure enough, had its ear on the ground listening for tiny insects.
Other birds, like the Eurasian blackbird, employ this prey detection strategy. Ground-dwelling grey-breasted wood wrens are frequently heard but not seen. While hiding in the undergrowth, they broadcast loud, melodious songs and rasping calls.
Behavior: Mammals winner
Anand Nambiar captures a snow leopard charging a herd of Himalayan ibex toward a sharp ledge from an unusual angle. Anand observed the snow leopard move away from the herd and from a vantage point across the ravine. In contrast to Anand, who engaged in a fitness regimen to prepare for the high altitude and chilly temperatures, it was perfectly suited to the surroundings. The world’s most extreme habitats are home to snow leopards. They are currently considered vulnerable. Climate change, mining, and the hunting of snow leopards and their prey are all threats.
Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles winner
Fernando Constantino Martnez Belmar waits in darkness as he watches a Yucatan rat snake catch a bat. Fernando kept an eye on this Yucatan rat snake that was sticking out of a crevice using a red light because snakes and bats are less sensitive to red light. He had only a few seconds to get the shot before the rat snake and its bat prey disappeared into a crack.
Natural artistry winner
Junji Takasago perseveres through his altitude sickness to create a surreal sight. Junji snuck up on the flock of Chilean flamingos that were preening. He overcame his altitude sickness to frame their dance moves within the reflected clouds, capturing this surreal sight.
Oceans: The bigger picture winner
Richard Robinson catches a moment of hope for a whale population that has persevered in the face of overwhelming odds. Richard used a polecam to take pictures of the whales as they approached his boat gradually despite the terrible visibility. He pushed the limits of his camera in the pitch-black water and was relieved to discover the image was razor-sharp and the moment of copulation had been frozen in time.
Plants and fungi winner
In the Mount Olympus woodlands, Agorastos Papatsanis creates a setting straight out of a fairy tale. Agorastos loved the way mushrooms and fairy tales interacted, and he wanted to create a mystical setting. He utilized a wide-angle lens and flashes to highlight the morels’ intricate shapes after waiting for the sun to shine through the trees and illuminate the river in the backdrop.
Underwater winner
Tony Wu observes a gigantic sea star’s enthralling reproductive dance.
Tony encountered a number of difficulties as the surrounding water was filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars. In this galaxy-like picture, he backed up to fit the undulating sea star into his frame of view because he was confined to a small, enclosed harbor and was only equipped with a macro lens for close-up photography of small objects.
Urban Wildlife winner
This chilling image of polar bears enveloped in fog in the long-abandoned town of Kolyuchin is provided by Dmitry Kokh. Dmitry noticed the polar bears wandering among the structures of the long-abandoned hamlet as he was aboard a yacht looking for refuge from a storm. Dmitry took a photo with a low-noise drone that evokes a dystopian future as they investigated every window and entrance.
Wetlands – The Bigger picture winner
The contrast between the trees and the algae bloom on Lake Amatitlán is captured by Daniel Nez using a drone. Daniel shot this picture to draw attention to the effects of pollution on Lake Amatitlán, which annually receives about 75,000 tonnes of rubbish from Guatemala City. It was a sunny day with ideal weather, yet it is still a sad and shocking experience, he claims.
Photojournalism winner
The final chapter of the life tale of a beloved mountain gorilla is told by Brent Stirton. After Ndakasi’s troop was ruthlessly murdered by a strong charcoal mafia as a danger to park guards, Brent documented Ndakasi’s rescue when she was just two months old. As she lay in the arms of her 13-year carer and savior, ranger Andre Bauma, he paid tribute to her life here.
Photojournalist story award winner
In her investigation of the future of a long-standing custom, Karine Aigner also examines the connection between Cuban culture and birdsong. Some Cubans have kept songbirds as pets for hundreds of years and competed in bird-singing competitions. These little, charming birds have given the neighborhood company, amusement, and friendly competition during a stressful time of economic sanctions and political instability.
The custom of songbird competitions has already crossed an ocean thanks to frequent travel and immigration between Cuba and North America. US law enforcement is tightening up on the catching, trading, and competing of songbirds since their populations are rapidly declining.
Rising Star portfolio award winner
Mateusz Piesiak meticulously examined camera angles to create a collection of close-up images examining avian behavior. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Mateusz, who won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award when he was 14 years old, roamed his neighborhood. Even a little park or pond in the middle of the city proved to be a very good location for wildlife photography.
Portfolio award winner
To reveal the variety of life found beneath the ice in Antarctica, Laurent Ballesta braves dives below the freezing point. Laurent, a biologist, and underwater photographer, has organized a number of significant missions that all involved scientific puzzles and diving difficulties and produced photographs that had never before been seen. He has received numerous awards in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, including the top prize in 2021.
Young wildlife photographer of the year
The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022 was given to 16-year-old Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn for his artistic photograph, The beauty of baleen. Inspired by the Bryde’s whale’s striking contrasts in hues and textures, Katanyou took this picture. As the whale approached, the tour boat Katanyou was on shut off its motor in accordance with government tourism regulations. Katanyou had to maintain his hand steadiness while taking this close-up shot because the boat was rocking from the swell.
An osprey is perched on a dead tree by Ismael Dominguez Gutiérrez as he waits for the fog to dissipate. Ismael was dismayed to find himself at the wetland with only a few meters of visibility and no chance of seeing the grebes he hoped to photograph. But as the fog started to clear, it made it possible for this beautiful composition to be seen.
Ekaterina Bee observes two Alpine ibex competing for dominance. Ekaterina noticed the conflict as she and her family were coming to an end-of-a-day excursion in the spring. Standing on their hind legs like boxers in a ring, the two ibex traded blows and clashed horns.