Gallery: Animals in their Environment

White phantoms

1° classified

Author: Mateusz Piesiak (PL)

Location: Barycz Valley (Poland)

Description: When the ponds are being drained, thousands of birds are gathering around, because it is a great occasion to eat fish. Mateusz woke up before the sunrise, hid himself in the reeds and waited for birds. After some time the first egrets and gulls started to appear in the distance. Suddenly an eagle appeared on the horizon. All gulls lifted off while the egrets were standing still and motionless. It was still very dark so exposure time was pretty long.

The kingfisher

2° classified

Author: Petar Sabol (HR)

Location: Mala Subotica, Me?imurje County (Croatia)

Description: The photo shows how a kingfisher grabs the fish underwater in all its glory. The shot was made in a small lake located between Palovec and Mala Subotica, in the Me?imurje County in the north of Croatia, where this beautiful bird lives.

Lost

2° classified

Author: Jan R Olsen (NO)

Location: Kvitøya Island, Svalbard (Norway)

Description: This was from a ten day journey around Svalbard and the image is shot far north of the island. I used a wide angle lens because i wanted to show the polar bear in it's difficult situation these days, with the ever decreasing ice areas. This will make it more difficult for the polar bear to hunt seals in the future.

Rapa das bestas

Honorable Mention

Author: Daniel Rodrigues (PT)

Location: Galicia (Spain)

Description: Throughout Galicia, in northern Spain, the annual ritual of cutting the manes and tails of wild horses that live free in the mountains is found everywhere. But it is in the village of Sabucedo that the tradition of "Rapa das Bestas" gains strength as an international event.

Run for your life!

Honorable Mention

Author: Roie Galitz (IL)

Location: Ndutu Area (Tanzania)

Description: Mother Cheetah must hunt almost every day to feed her young cubs. The Cheetah waited patiently in an ambush for the Thomson's Gazelle to get closer enough. At the right moment the chase began and after an intense fight for the Gazelle it was all over.

Lake Csaj (Hungary)

Honorable Mention

Author: Tom Dyring (NO)

Location: Lake Csaj (Hungary)

Description: The grey heron on it's nightly hunt is enlighten with warm light up front and a stronger white backlit light; by coincidence it was supplemented by the heaviest rain in Hungary for the last two decades! The slow shutter speed of 1/20 sec gives the rain a striped "wet-look".

Glances

Honorable Mention

Author: Marco Urso (IT)

Location: Kuril Lake, Kamchatka (Russia)

Description: Cubs often wait their mother to get the fish and than claim their part. It is the case of these two buddies who stares at food and move like twings. The mother is looking at me to monitor the situation.

Cormorant with fish

Honorable Mention

Author: Tom Dyring (NO)

Location: Lake Csaj (Hungary)

Description: Every winter Tom usually spends a week in a hide shooting water birds! In January every year cormorants gather in big flocks hunting for fish in the shallow waters of the wetlands. Tom's obsession was to capture a close up cormorant while hunting with a super low angle.

Vortex

Honorable Mention

Author: Davide Lopresti (IT)

Location: Beqa Lagoon (Fiji)

Description: During a session of shark feeding, an example of how sharks can be an asset to the area in a sustainable way. At first it could be seen as a bad practice, but in reality try to confine them in a rather large area in their natural environment and protecting them from the wild peach, could be an interesting solution.

Workout... fat burning

Honorable Mention

Author: Lessy Sebastian (ID)

Location: Jakarta (Indonesia)

Description: A fat green tree frog manages a chin-up over a slender bamboo cane in the backyard of Lessy's home in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. The frog sticky toe pads act like suction cups, enabling it to cling to smooth surfaces.

Hunting jackal

Honorable Mention

Author: Neal Cooper (ZA)

Location: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa)

Description: Neal has visited the Kgalagadi Transfrontier more than thirteen times, but he had never seen the Black-backed Jackals hunt birds. In January 2015 he was fortunate to witness this and to get a clean image as the Jackal jumped towards a Sandgrouse.

Colorful life

Honorable Mention

Author: Oscar Miralpeix (ES)

Location: Red Sea (Sudan)

Description: Sudan is not the right location to see beautiful corals because it's a veryhotcountry,usuallythemost colorfulcoralsarebetweenthe surface to ten meters below sea level. Oscar was very lucky to see this colourfull coral with a goby fish on top thus being a perfect combination to show the size and the colour of the coral itself.

Solar Contact

Honorable Mention

Author: Salvatore Ianniello (IT)

Location: Bacoli, Pozzuoli, Naples (Italy)

Description: The photo was taken in apnea, just below the marine surface. After different angles and shots Salvatore chose this one while the sun is rising above the head of the jellyfish.

Red-footed faclons

Honorable Mention

Author: Giorgio Guarraia (IT)

Location: Hortobagy National Park (Hungary)

Description: At the end of May Giorgio was at the Hortobagy National Park. While most of red-footed falcons were already nesting, this couple was obviously late, so Giorgio witnessed their repeated matings.

The clan

Honorable Mention

Author: Selzer Klaus-Peter (DE)

Location: Nürnberg (Germany)

Description: Klaus noticed this clan of baoons watching the apes and he found them very interesting and their behavour acting as human beings was very amusing. He had to stand there for about three hours before the baoons where in the correct position. Klaus had to take many shots and this is the only one that really satisfied him.