2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The winners of the Natural History Museum’s prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced at an awards ceremony in London.

American photographer Karine Aigner won this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year for her remarkable image of cactus bees spinning over the hot sand (above).

Sixteen-year-old Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn from Thailand was awarded the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022 for his image, The beauty of baleen.

The two Grand Title winners were selected from 19 category winners. 38,575 entries from 93 countries were judged anonymously on their originality, narrative, technical excellence, and ethical practice.

The flagship exhibition will tour internationally including to Australia and New Zealand.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.

We selected the most relevant images for Dive Pacific readers to display on these pages.

99 more stunning photos can viewed at www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery

New life for the tohorā’ by Richard Robinson, New Zealand

Winner, Oceans The Bigger Picture
Richard Robinson captures a hopeful moment for a population of whales that has survived against all odds.

Hindered by poor visibility, Richard used a polecam to photograph the whales gradually moving towards his boat. Pushing his camera to its limits in the dark water, he was relieved to find the image pin-sharp and the moment of copulation crystallised in time.

When ready to mate, the female southern right whale rolls onto its back, requiring the male to reach its penis across the female’s body. Known by the Māori as tohorā, the New Zealand population was hunted to near extinction in the 1800s, so every new calf offers new hope.

Shot under New Zealand Department of Conservation permit #84845-MAR  

Location: Deas Head, Auckland Islands, New Zealand

Technical details:

• Canon EOS 5DS R + 8–15mm f4 lens at 15mm
  
• 1/640 sec at f4; ISO 1600
  
• Aquatica housing
  

‘The beauty of baleen’ by Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn, Thailand

Winner 15-17 Years
Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn is intrigued by the contrasting colours and textures of a Bryde’s whale, which surfaces close by.

Following government tourism guidelines, the tour boat Katanyou was travelling on turned off its engine as the whale appeared close by. This meant that Katanyou had to steady his hands to capture this close-up composition as the boat rocked in the swell.

Bryde’s whales have up to 370 pairs of grey-coloured plates of baleen growing inside their upper jaws. The plates are made of keratin, a protein that also forms human hair and nails, and are used to filter small prey from the ocean.

Location: Upper Gulf of Thailand, Phetchaburi, Thailand

Technical details:

• Canon EOS 90D + Sigma 150–600mm f5–6.3 lens
  
• 1/6400 sec at f6.3 (-1 e/v)
  
• ISO 640
  

‘Under Antarctic ice’ by Laurent Ballesta, France

Winner Portfolio Award: ‘Pyramid of life’
Living towers of marine invertebrates punctuate the seabed off Adelie Land, 32 metres (105 feet) under East Antarctic ice. Here, at the centre, a tree-shaped sponge is draped with life, from giant ribbon worms to sea stars.

Location: Adélie Land, Antarctica

Technical details:

• Nikon D810 + 13mm f2.8 lens
  
• 1/13 sec at f16; ISO 800
  
• Seacam housing
  
• 2x Seacam strobes
  

Portfolio Story:
Laurent Ballesta endures below-freezing dives to reveal the diversity of life beneath Antarctica’s ice.

An underwater photographer and biologist, Laurent has led a series of major expeditions, all involving scientific mysteries and diving challenges, and all resulting in unprecedented images. He has won multiple prizes in Wildlife Photographer of the Year, including the grand title award in 2021.

His expedition to Antarctica, exploring its vast underwater biodiversity, took two years to plan, a team of expert divers, and specially developed kit. His 32 dives in water temperature down to -1.7˚C (29°F) included the deepest, longest dive ever made in Antarctica.

‘Shooting star’ by Tony Wu, USA/Japan

Winner Underwater
Tony Wu watches the electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star.

As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Tony faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view, in this galaxy-like scene.  

The ‘dancing’ posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water.

Location: Kinko Bay, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan

Technical details

• Nikon D850 + 105mm f2.8 lens
  
• 1/250 sec at f18; ISO 320; Nauticam housing
  
• Backscatter Mini Flash 1 + Inon S2000 + Z240 strobes
  
• RGBlue compact tripod
  

‘Heavenly flamingos’ by Junji Takasago, Japan

Winner Natural Artistry
Junji Takasago powers through altitude sickness to produce a dream-like scene.

Junji crept towards the preening group of Chilean flamingos. Framing their choreography within the reflected clouds, he fought back his altitude sickness to capture this dream-like scene.

High in the Andes, Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt pan. It is also one of Bolivia’s largest lithium mines, which threatens the future of these flamingos. Lithium is used in batteries for phones and laptops. Together we can help decrease demand by recycling old electronics.

Location: Salar de Uyuni, Daniel Campos Province, Bolivia

Technical details:

• Nikon Z7 + 80–400mm f4–5.6 lens at 400mm
  
• 1/3200 sec at f10 (+0.7 e/v)
  
• ISO 800
  

Editor’s note:
While ‘Heavenly flamingos’ is not a marine-related image, we felt it is so visually striking it deserved a place in this spread. We hope Dive Pacific readers appreciate it as much as we do.