This year’s winning snaps are on display at the Natural History Museum.

Ed Yong

In the halls of London’s Natural History Museum, visitors are confronted by the stern stare of a grizzly bear, a lunging leopard seal and pensive meerkats. It’s all part of the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which migrated back to London this week.

The exhibition is as captivating as ever, but with a record 32,000 entries vying for the coveted top spot, this year’s final selection is particularly strong. Amid fierce competition from 78 different countries, British photographers account for a third of the images on display and scooped both the main prizes.

Cheeky monkeys and muddy mammals

Eleven-year-old Patrick Corning form Surrey said it was ‘amazing’ to be named Shell Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his portrait of three lazing squirrel monkeys. “I took the photo when I was just nine,” he says. “I was sitting on the balcony of a villa in Costa Rica, watching three monkeys mess around. I think it’s cute how one of the monkeys is pulling another one’s ear." Judge Mark Carwardine agreed, saying that “it raises a smile every time”.

The top accolade of Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year went to Ben Osborne from Shrewsbury, for his kinetic image of a bull elephant spraying and kicking mud. The image vividly captures the texture of the mud, the low morning light and the elephant’s mass, but Osborne identified another reason for its success. Referring to last year’s winning walrus image, he says, “For the last two years, the winners have been large mammals with tusks bathing in mud. I’m going after a warthog next year!”.

Skill, respect and patience

Osborne helped to film Planet Earth in Botswana, and took the shot while staking out a waterhole in his spare time. “I spent many hours a day sitting there, trying to understand the animals and their behaviour. That was the key to getting the right moment.” Throughout the competition, it’s clear that their winning shots are not just about photographic skill—they are borne from a deep respect for their subjects and an understanding of their behaviour.

Amos Nachoum’s evocative photo of a leaping great white shark, for example, was the result of two years of planning. “It takes less than three tenths of a second for the shark to reach the top of the breach and I was stunned that I acted fast enough,” says Nachoum. “When I took the photo, I knew I got it—two years for one photo!".

Paul Nicklen, whose images of narwhals and leopard seals received multiple honours, spoke of his fondness for polar wildlife. Even diving with Antarctica’s top predator, the leopard seal, was a fun experience for him. “Their threat display, when they take your head in their jaws, is a bit nerve-wracking, but you just have to stay calm. They’re very good communicators. It was the easiest shoot I’ve ever done."

In contrast, taking the aerial shot of narwhals that won the Animals in their Environment category was much more fraught. “I had to buy an ultra-light airplane and ship it on the back of another airplane. Then we almost crashed it on the first day,” says Nicklen.

A passion for the natural world

This year, the competition benefits from an expanded educational angle. The images are accompanied and enhanced by quotes from the photographer and background facts on the animals.

“We all try to use our images to communicate our passion about the natural world,” says Obsorne. “It’s not just about a picture on a wall—it’s about sharing these images with people. And environmental problems, loss of species and global warming have given us a whole new agenda."

While the competition has drawn controversy recently for its partnership with Shell, it seems to be waving its environmental banner even more strongly. Competition manager Debbie Sage says, “Endangered species are, by their nature, very hard to see. To bring images of these animals to the general public is very important, as these animals don’t have voices of their own."

The issues are highlighted by the new One Earth Award, which rewards images that showcase our interaction with our planet, from a plane silhouetted against the Moon, to a polar bear plaintively clinging onto a piece of ice barely bigger than its body. Other categories also feature a wide menagerie of endangered species including wild dogs, whale sharks and albatrosses. With the future of these species in jeopardy, there’s never been a better time to bring their faces to public attention.

Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year is owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine, and is sponsored by Shell.

Ed Yong blogs at Not exactly Rocket Science.