Bee ‘Ball’ and Whale Mouth: Discover Wildlife Photographer’s Best Pictures of 2022
On the hot Texas sands, bees Stacked into a ball full of madness. Wings buzz, new bugs rush to join the crowd. The silky bodies of foragers form a mixture that makes it difficult to determine who has which leg or head.
What fly sting these bees? Love, or rather procreation. All of these specimens are males struggling for preference with one female trapped in the middle of the mass. After a few minutes, the winner of the quarrel will fly away with his beloved to mate, out of sight.
“Bee ball” is at the top of the list
The scene is as wonderful as it is difficult to immortalize. No wonder she allowed the award of American photographer Karen Wagner and not by anyone: before Wildlife Photographer of the YearThe prestigious photography competition organized by the Natural History Museum in London.
Thanks to ‘Bee Ball’, Karine Aigner just won the title of ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022’. “Impression of movement and intensity […] Turns these little bees into strong competitors for a single femaleRosamund Kidman Cox, chair of the jury, explained.
The spectacle was more welcome as today bees face multiple stresses that threaten their future such as the loss of their natural habitat, Insecticides or climate change. While 70% of species nest underground, including specimens in the genus Diadasia, It is increasingly important that these areas of natural soil remain intact.
This “bee ball” succeeds in Ballet Breeding Grouperto me picture of siberian tiger and in The confrontation between the fox and the groundhog, awarded respectively in 2021, 2020 and 2019. However, Karen Aigner is not the only one awarded this year. As with each edition, a young photographer was also awarded a grand prize.
in the mouth of a whale
It’s a 16-year-old Thai named Kattanyu and Techitchitanakorn who conquered the jury with his photo titled “The Beauty of a Whale”. When Bryde’s whale appeared near his boat, the young man was fascinated by the colors and texture of his dark skin, pink gums, and gray, brush-like gums.
Like other whales, this whale feeds using a technique called “burst feeding.” In other words, it opens its open mouth to catch large amounts of small fish and uses baleen to filter small creatures from the ocean. A style that Cattaneo and Techitanakorn offer as much creative insight as he is brilliant with his shot.
“From the jaws of Pride’s whale emerges this dazzling creation. The utterly sharp details of a small anchovies stand out against an abstraction of color with a texture of brown baleen surrounded by a series of water droplets.’,” Rosamund Kidman Cox analyzed. This is the first time that a young Thai with a passion for photography since he was twelve, has won such a competition.
For this 2022 edition, the jury had to choose from more than 38,000 submissions from 93 countries. A winner was then selected for each of the 19 competition categories according to different criteria. Among the winners are other photographers, including the French Laurent Ballista which was already awarded last year.
He won the “Portfolio” category of the competition thanks to a series of shots he took during an expedition to Adelie Land in Antarctica. You can see many invertebrates and fish immortalized in the icy blue waters of Antarctica. During this mission, the biologist and his team conducted 32 dives in temperatures as low as -1.7 degrees Celsius.
100 pictures exhibited in London
“Wildlife photographers give us unforgettable glimpses into wildlife life, sharing imperceptible details, fascinating behaviors, and reporting from the front lines of climate and biodiversity crises.In a press release, Dr Doug Goure, Director of the Natural History Museum in London commented.
“These photos show their admiration and interest in the natural world and the need to work to protect it.He continued, “The winning photos of Karen Aigner, Cattaneo and Techittanakorn, as well as 98 others appear. In the final choice will be It ran from October 14, 2022 to July 2, 2023 At the Natural History Museum in London, before touring the UK and elsewhere.
The 100 most beautiful photos of the competition were also collected in a book published by the French publishing house Biotope Editions.
>> DISCOVER A selection of award winning photos By Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022.
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