The swirling image of a hawk diving into a flock of Eurasian starlings has earned Manuel Presti the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year, one of the most prestigious awards in the photography community.
This Italian photographer captured Sky Chase (or Sky Hunting) in a park in Rome.
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| The award-winning photo of animal behavior, depicting a hawk diving into a flock of Eurasian starlings in Rome. |
“Sky Chase is a photograph of power, something you will never forget,” remarked Mark Carwardine, one of the judges.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, organized by BBC Wildlife Magazine and the Natural History Museum in London, attracted 17,000 entries from over 55 countries worldwide.
Manuel Presti is an engineer, but he has been taking photographs in his spare time for the past 20 years. Through his work, he aims to showcase the simple beauty of nature and hopes to awaken people’s interest in conservation. Across Europe, populations of Eurasian starlings have rapidly declined. However, thousands find their homes in parks in Rome—where the weather is warmer than surrounding countries and generally safer, except from hawks. The photo won the Animal Behavior category.
Elephants at the Foot of Kilimanjaro
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| A wondrous moment on the African savanna, beneath one of the greatest peaks in the world. |
This photograph by Martyn Colbeck (UK) captures a magical moment on the African savanna, beneath one of the world’s greatest peaks. The weather was so clear that Kilimanjaro could be seen from 40 kilometers away. The image consists of three classic elements often found in other successful works: a distant mountain, a layer of clouds, and a close-up of a herd of dust-covered elephants. Just after Martyn captured this scene, the cloud faded into the mountain, and the herd of elephants was disturbed. This photo belongs to the Nature category in the black-and-white series.
Swan Calls at Dawn
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| A flock of swans in Hokkaido, Japan, where temperatures can drop to -20 degrees Celsius. |
Martin Eisenhawer from Germany took a photo of a flock of swans in Hokkaido, Japan. It was a frigid morning in February, and part of the lake was covered in ice. However, the lake remained warm, with patches of water revealed for the birds to swim. The award-winning image falls under the category of Animals in Their Environment.
A School of Lionfish
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| The lionfish, an intimidating-looking predator, is one of the largest carnivores in the coral reefs of the Red Sea. |
The underwater scene captured by Alexander Mustard is one of the rare deep photographs. The eyes are immediately drawn to the face of a predator in the coral reefs of the Red Sea. Only slowly does one realize that this threatening creature is surrounded by a crowd of other fish. Alexander, a British photographer, traveled to the tip of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt in June, focusing on photographing lionfish and other species during their breeding season. Lionfish typically live solitary lives, but during breeding season, they gather in large schools. The award-winning photo belongs to the Animal Portrait category.
The Toad’s Hunt
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| To capture this image, Ruben placed a camera at the bottom of the pond. |
This photograph by Dutch photographer Ruben Smit captures one of the fundamental behaviors of animals: mating. Every spring, large numbers of frogs migrate to breed in the Veluwe pond, on the outskirts of Arnhem.
T. An (according to BBC)
