Laurent Ballesta’s photo of a horseshoe crab escorted by golden trevallies wins the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023
French underwater photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta has been crowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023, only the second photographer in the competition’s fifty-nine-year history to be awarded the Grand Title award twice.
Ballesta, first awarded the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 for his stunning image of camouflage groupers exiting a milky cloud of eggs and sperm in Fakarava, French Polynesia, took the title this year with his image ‘The Golden Horseshoe’, an otherworldly shot of a tri-spine horseshoe crab accompanied by a trio of golden trevallies.
Selected from 49,957 entries from 95 countries, the winners of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, were revealed at an awards ceremony earlier this week. The winning entries will be displayed at an exhibition at the South Kensington museum which opens on Friday 13 October.
Underwater photographers once again made an important contribution to the competition, winning several categories and being recognised as highly commended in others.
A complete gallery of the winning images is available at www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy. Here are just some of the best from the underwater realm.
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Winner, Underwater
‘Hippo Nursery’ by Mike Korostelev, Russia
Mike Korostelev reveals a hippopotamus and her two offspring resting in the shallow clear-water lake. For over two years Mike has been visiting the hippos in this lake and knew they were accustomed to his boat. He spent just 20 seconds underwater with them – enough time to get this image from a safe distance and to avoid alarming the mother.
Hippos produce one calf every two to three years. Their slow-growing population is particularly vulnerable to habitat degradation, drought, and illegal hunting for meat and ivory from their teeth.
Location: Kosi Bay, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa
Technical details: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 17–40mm f4 lens; 1/320 at f7.1; ISO 640; Seacam housing
Judge’s comments: ‘Freshwater and semi-aquatic mammals known for ferocity are not the first things you imagine coming together for a bucolic underwater scene. From content to composition to moment, this image was a wonderful surprise in this category.’ – Kathy Moran, Chair of the Jury, editor
Highly Commended, Under Water
‘All Aboard’ by Jorgen Rasmussen, Singapore
Jorgen Rasmussen frames an intriguing interaction between a box jellyfish, a fish and an argonaut.
Jorgen found this trio while diving in search of migrating zooplankton. Dodging deadly jellyfish tentacles, he managed to perfect the lighting and frame these three very different species as they emerged from the darkness.
The carangid fish in the umbrella-shaped body of the jellyfish may have been killed by the powerful stings of the box jellyfish. Argonauts often cling to jellyfish to save energy, or perhaps to eat them or seek protection from predators.
Location: Balayan Bay, Anilao, the Philippines
Technical details: Nikon D850 + 60mm f2.8 lens; 1/200 at f18; ISO 320; Seacam housing; Scubalamp strobes + lights
Highly Commended, Under Water
‘The Young Challenger’ by Philip Hamilton, UK
Philip Hamilton has a close encounter with a curious southern right whale.
The young southern right whale reached out for Philip, who was photographing under special permit. Quick reactions averted a more dangerous collision and allowed him to frame eye contact with his bold subject.
Rich in oil, these whales were considered easier to hunt than other whales as they were slow moving in coastal waters and floated when harpooned. Since hunting ceased in the 1960s, their numbers have recovered from near extinction.
Location: Valdés Peninsula, Chubut Province, Argentina; shot under Chubut government permit 160/14-STyAP
Technical details: Canon EOS R5 + 15–35mm f2.8 lens at 15mm; 1/250 at f8; ISO 100; Nauticam housing
Winner, 11-14 Years
Out of the blue by Ekaterina Bee, Italy
Ekaterina Bee shares her intimate encounter with some common bottlenose dolphins.
Ekaterina’s trip to the west coast of Scotland was filled with wildlife encounters, but bottlenose dolphins were an unexpected surprise. From the boat she composed this image, which highlights the surface patterns on the water created by the dolphins’ movements.
Common bottlenose dolphins can be found throughout the world’s oceans except in polar regions. Living in small groups, they are highly social animals, and are one of the top marine predators living in Scottish waters.
Location: Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK
Technical details: Nikon D5600 + 18–55mm f3.5–5.6 lens; 1/1600 at f4.8; ISO 320
Judge’s comments: ‘As a diver who spends a lot of time in the ocean, I really appreciate the challenges of creating this image in such an artistic way. Reflection and light on the ocean’s surface are unpredictable and fast changing, not to mention the speed and movement of the dolphins.’ – Lucas Bustamante, wildlife conservation photojournalist
Winner, Behaviour: Mammals
‘Whales Making Waves’ by Bertie Gregory, UK
Bertie Gregory tracks a pod of orcas as they prepare to ‘wave wash’ a Weddell seal.
Bertie took two month-long expeditions searching for orcas. ‘We spent every waking minute on the roof of the boat, scanning,’ he says. After battling high winds and freezing conditions, he captured this remarkable behaviour with his drone.
These orcas belong to a group that specialises in hunting seals by charging towards the ice, creating a wave that washes the seal into the water. With rising temperatures melting ice floes, seals are spending more time on land, and the behaviour of ‘wave washing’ may disappear.
Location: Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica
Technical details: DJI Mavic 2 Pro + Hasselblad L1D-20c + 28mm f2.8 lens; 1/120 at f4; ISO 100
Judge’s comments: ‘This is a spectacular and record-setting view of this rarely seen behaviour. You can empathetically feel the vulnerability of the seal in the face of the power and size of the whales, and the tension of this moment, which seems about to explode into action and predation.’ – Melissa Groo, wildlife photographer
Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles
‘The Tadpole Banquet’ by Juan Jesús Gonzalez Ahumada, Spain
Juan Jesús Gonzalez Ahumada watches as toad tadpoles feast on a dead fledgling sparrow.
The drama unfolded near Juan’s home when a newly fledged sparrow launched itself from a nest on his neighbour’s roof and fell into a nearby pond, where it drowned. Juan had to pick his moment to show the tadpole formation and the sparrow’s eye.
Common toad tadpoles have varied diets consisting of algae, vegetation, and tiny swimming invertebrates. As they grow larger, they become more carnivorous so when a banquet like this arrives, they take full advantage.
Location: Ojén, Málaga, Spain
Technical details: Canon EOS R6 + 100mm f2.8 lens; 1/80 at f5.6; ISO 320; ring flash
Judge’s comments: ‘This is one of those double-take images. At first glance it appears that the chick is sporting some bizarre feathers. It takes a moment to realise that in death there is life, made all the more impactful when the interaction is between newborns – chick or larvae, they are still babes.’ – Kathy Moran, Chair of the Jury, editor
Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture
‘Big Blue’ by Ralph Pace, USA
Ralph Pace emphasises scale by contrasting a blue whale with a fulmar flying overhead.
Ralph encountered this blue whale – one of three – as it surfaced to take a breath. Its great length was highlighted by the more-than-metre-wide (nearly four-foot) wingspan of an overhead fulmar. Ralph stayed with the group as they joined other blue whales to feed and socialise.
An estimated 2,000 blue whales – around one fifth of the global population – feed in the waters off California. While numbers are rising, the main threats are plastic pollution, ship strikes, and warming oceans impacting the availability of their main food source, krill.
Location: Monterey Bay, California, USA
Technical details: DJI Phantom 4 + 24mm lens; 1/120 at f4; ISO 100
Winner, Portfolio Award; Winner, UPY2023
‘The Ancient Mariner’ by Laurent Ballesta, France
Laurent Ballesta went looking for horseshoe crabs in the protected waters of Pangatalan Island in the Philippines.
A tri-spine horseshoe crab moves slowly over the mud. Its golden protective carapace hides 12 appendages. Above the horseshoe crab, a trio of juvenile golden trevallies are poised to dart down for edible morsels ploughed up by its passage.
Marine biologist and photographer Laurent Ballesta has dedicated his life to exploring the oceans and revealing their wonder through art. He has led a series of major expeditions, all involving scientific mysteries and diving challenges, and all resulting in unprecedented images.
The tri-spine horseshoe crab has survived for more than 100 million years but now faces habitat destruction and overfishing for food and for its blood, used in the development of vaccines. But, in the protected waters off Pangatalan Island, there is hope for its survival.
Location: Pangatalan Island, Palawan, the Philippines
Technical details: Nikon D5 + 13mm f2.8 lens; 1/25 at f22; ISO 800; Seacam housing; 2x Seacam strobes
Judges’ comments:‘This photographer has managed to inspire childlike wonder, tug at the strings of my curiosity and reveal an urgent scientific story in a visually stunning and dynamic way.’ – Celina Chien, artist and storyteller
‘An extraordinary portfolio that chronicles, with great originality, the life of this unique and endangered species. The variety of images, the use of light, the attention to detail and behaviour – a perfect example of how to craft a natural history story through photography.’ – Stefano Unterthiner, wildlife and conservation photographer
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition opens at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, on Friday, 13 October 2023 and will close on Sunday, 30 June 2024. Tickets available from the Natural History Museum website.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 will be open for submissions on Monday 16 October 2023 and will close for entries at 11.30am on Thursday 7 December. Entry details at www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/competition