Judges have chosen the winning photos in the Nature Photographer of the Year contest, now in its ninth year.
Italian photographer Paolo Della Rocca took the overall prize for his image of two snow leopard siblings play-fighting in the Spita Valley of northern India. Della Rocca wanted to photograph the rare cats for years. They have been his favorite animal since childhood.
Della Rocca spoke about the day he took the incredible photo.
This image was anything but easy to obtain. I waited over six hours at the edge of a canyon as the two siblings rested in a cave. The cold –- reaching -25˚C and intensified by a snowstorm –- seeped into my bones. When calm finally returned, the snow leopards began to move, chasing each other up the snowy slopes, playing in front of my astonished eyes. I remember thinking, ‘This isn’t happening; it can’t be real!’ And then, I captured this frame. Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine photographing such a moment.
This year, the contest had a record number of entries: 22,851 from 96 countries. Twelve category winners were selected. Della Rocca won the Mammals category and then the overall prize.
Check out other winning images below.
Animal Portraits – Winner: ‘Besties’
Photo: Marcia Walters
Underwater – Winner: ‘Giant Octopus Dolfleini’
Photo: Andrey Shpatak
Birds – Winner: ‘Golden Eye’
Photo: Luca Lorenz
Humans and Nature – Winner: ‘My Pet Tiger’
Photo: Aaron Gekoski
Other Animals – Winner: ‘Disturbing Shadow’
Photo: Sebastien Blomme
Nature of ‘De Lage Landen’ – Winner: ‘Colourful Seagull’
Photo: Mathijs Frenken
Nature Art – Winner: ‘Amino Acids Mimicking Nature’
Photo: Dirk Vermaire
Landscapes – Winner: ‘Black Lava Beach’
Photo: Baard Næss
Black and White – Winner: ‘Cross to Bear‘
Photo: Paul Goldstein
