Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020

It took Sergey months to capture the amazing image of a tigress rubbing against a tree as a way of scent marking. After much research, he set up a hidden camera in January 2019 but it was not until November that he achieved the picture he'd planned for.

Nikon Z-7 + 50mm f1.8 lens; 1/200 sec at f6.3; ISO 250; Cognisys camera-trap system.

And the winner of Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020 is...

The fox that got the goose by © Liina Heikkinen

Liina Heikkinen was awarded the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020 for her dramatic image, The fox that got the goose. With feathers flying, the young fox is framed as it refuses to share the barnacle goose with its five sibling rivals. Liina is the youngest of a family of wildlife photographers and has spent much of her childhood immersed in nature in her homeland of Finland.

Nikon D4 + 28–300mm f3.5–5.6 lens; 1/125 sec at f5.6 (-0.3 e/v); ISO 1600.

Here are some of the other category winners.

The pose by © Mogens Trolle

A young male proboscis monkey cocks his head slightly and closes his eyes. Unexpected pale blue eyelids now complement his immaculately groomed auburn hair. He poses for a few seconds as if in meditation.

Canon EOS-1D X + 500mm f4 lens; 1/1000 sec at f7.1; ISO1250; Manfrotto tripod + Benrogimbal head.

The golden moment by © Songda Cai

A tiny diamondback squid paralarva flits below in the blackness, stops hunting for an instant when caught in the light beam, gilds itself in shimmering gold andthen moves gracefully out of the light.

Nikon D850 + 60mm f2.8 lens; 1/200 sec at f20; ISO 500; Seacam housing; Seaflash 150D strobes; Scubalamp lights.

Out of the blue by © Gabriel Eisenband

It was Ritak’Uwa Blanco, the highest peak in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes, that Gabriel had set out to photograph. Pitching his tent in the valley, he climbed up to photograph the snow-capped peak against the sunset. But it was the foreground of flowers that captured his attention. Sometimes known as white arnica, the plant is a member of the daisy family found only in Colombia.

Nikon D300s + Nikon 10–24mm f3.5 lens at 11mm; 30 sec at f22; ISO 200; Gitzo tripod.

The last bite by © Ripan Biswas

These two ferocious predators don’t often meet. The giant riverine tiger beetlepursues prey on the ground, while weaver ants stay mostly in the trees–but if they do meet, both need to be wary. When an ant colony went hunting small insects on a dry riverbed in Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India, a tiger beetle began to pick off some of the ants. In the heat of the midday sun, Ripan lay on the sand and edged closer in order to get this amazing shot.

Nikon D5200 + Tamron 90mm f2.8 lens; 1/160 sec at f8; ISO 160; Viltrox ring flash.

You can view all the finalists and category winners here.

Featured image © Sergey Gorshkov