Have you ever seen a trio of groupers mating? In the award-winning image Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 , organized by the Natural History Museum of London , it's possible. In it we see three groupers camouflaged in a milky cloud of eggs and sperm. For five years, French underwater biologist and photographer Laurent Ballesta and his team returned to this lagoon, diving day and night to watch the annual spawning of groupers, including reef sharks.
About 20,000 fish from the Fakarava lagoon , in French Polynesia, gather to spawn during the full moon in July. Overfishing threatens this species, but here the fish are protected as it is a biosphere reserve.
“The image works on many levels. She is striking, energetic, and intriguing, and she has an otherworldly beauty. Also capture a magical moment , a truly explosive creation of life," says Rosamund 'Roz' Kidman Cox OBE, chair of the competition's panel of judges.
The Natural History Museum has selected it as the best wildlife photograph of the year because it reveals a hidden underwater world , a fascinating but fleeting moment of animal behavior. "In what could be a pivotal year for the planet, with vital discussions at COP15 and COP26, Laurent Ballesta's creation is a reminder of what we stand to lose if we don't address humanity's impact on our planet."
See photos: The best photographs of the Wildlife Photographer of the year 2021
‘A spider is commuting in a TukTuk’
THE AWARD FOR THE BEST YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Do you remember what you used to do when you were 10 years old? Surely, like most children, nothing momentous. Vidyun R Hebbar he will remember this year as the one that won the award Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year . This boy from India, who has been participating in the contest for the last two years, has won the prize for a colorful image of a spider suspended in a web in the city of Bengaluru.
“It is such an imaginative way to photograph a spider. It is perfectly framed, the focus is perfect. You can see the fangs of the spider and the crazy weave of the trap, the threads like a delicate nerve web attached to the feet. But what's really clever is the addition of a creative backdrop: the bright colors of a motorized Tuk-tuk," said Rosamund 'Roz' Kidman Cox OBE in the press release.
Apparently what most attracted the jury was that these types of photographs remind us that we should take a closer look at the animals with which we live. The key is to take our camera very close , because we never know where a good photo can be.
These two photos have been selected as winners in the 19 categories of the contest that celebrates the captivating beauty of our natural world and the fascinating behavior of its species. The jury did not have it easy 50,000 photographs from 95 countries have participated . The 100 selected images are exhibited from this month at the Natural History Museum in London.
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