'Astonishing' image of a horseshoe crab beats 50,000 entries to be named Wildlife Photographer of the Year
“To see a horseshoe crab so vibrantly alive in its natural habitat, in such a hauntingly beautiful way, was astonishing." The Natural History Museum has announced the winners of its prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, with a stunning image of a horseshoe crab in the protected waters of Pangatalan Island in the Philippines. The photo was taken by French underwater photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta, who has tasted success in the competition before, winning in 2021. The winners will be shown in exhibitions around the world, including here in New Zealand at the Auckland War Memorial Museum from December 9.
公開済み : 2年前 沿って Alan Granville の Travel Science
Selected from 49,957 entries from 95 countries, the winners of the Natural History Museum's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
A stunning image of an “otherworldly”-looking living fossil has been picked as the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Laurent Ballesta’s photo of a tri-spine horseshoe crab accompanied by a trio of golden trevallies triumphed over 50,000 entries from 95 countries.
The French underwater photographer and marine biologist has tasted success in the competition before, winning in 2021.
The judges said they were blown away by the photo taken in the protected waters of Pangatalan Island in the Philippines.
“To see a horseshoe crab so vibrantly alive in its natural habitat, in such a hauntingly beautiful way, was astonishing,” said chair of the jury and editor, Kathy Moran.
“We are looking at an ancient species, highly endangered, and also critical to human health. This photo is luminescent.”
The horseshoe crab has lived on Earth for more than 400 million years but is facing habitat destruction and overfishing for food, and for its blue blood, which is used in the development of vaccines.
Ballesta told IFLScience said the animal spawns on beaches “but they’re not often photographed in the water because normally the places where they like to live, it’s muddy waters with zero visibility”.
“We were lucky to find this place where there is enough visibility … that was not deep, for once.”
The photo was part of a portfolio and wasn’t easy to capture, taking two weeks of diving for six hours a day to shoot.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, and the winners will be shown in exhibitions around the world, including here in New Zealand at the Auckland War Memorial Museum from December 9.
To view the category winners, click on the video at the top of the page or go nhm.ac.uk/wpy.
トピック: Wildlife