A Rescued Tiger Cub? Mating Mollusks? A Thieving Fox? One of These Images Could Bring Home the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award.
From playful animal behavior to pollution and poaching, these artists capture the state of nature in 2017.
Mats Andersson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A red squirrel pauses in its search for spruce cones on a frigid winter morning; a rain-soaked bald eagle boldly looks straight into the camera; a seahorse clutches at a Q-tip in sewage-choked waters. These are a few of the moments captured by the finalists for Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017.
Since 1965, the Natural History Museum in London has held this annual celebration of nature photography. Selected from a pool of nearly 50,000 entries from 92 countries, this year’s 13 finalists were announced by the museum earlier this month. The stunning images hint at both nature’s beauty and its devastation.
“As we contemplate our critical role in earth’s future, the images show the astonishing diversity of life on our planet and the crucial need to shape a more sustainable future,” reads the competition’s press release.
To get the perfect shot, wildlife photographers must possess an uncommon degree of patience, but these finalists don’t have much longer to wait now. At an awards ceremony on October 17, the museum will unveil the winners, “selected for their creativity, originality, and technical excellence.”
An exhibition featuring 100 of the top photos will go on display at the Natural History Museum in London starting October 20.
Justin Hofman/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Ashleigh Scully/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Steve Winter/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Jack Dykinga/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Klaus Nigge/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Andrey Narchuk/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
David Lloyd/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Laura Albiac Vilas/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Tyohar Kastiel/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Qing Lin/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Sergey Gorshkov/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
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