See all the finalist images of this year’s ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ competition, as well as the incredible winning shot by Marsel van Oosten.
Dutch photographer, Marsel van Oosten, has won the title of ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ for 2018 in the prestigious competition, for his image titled ‘The Golden Couple” as seen above. The striking image features snub-nosed monkeys in China and was shot in the Qinling Mountains, the only place where these monkeys are found, as they watch an altercation between two males in the troop.
“Whenever he did catch up and if the monkeys were on the ground, the light was seldom right,” writes the Natural History Museum, which runs the contest. “Also, the only way to show both a male’s beautiful pelage and his striking blue face was to shoot at an angle from the back. That became Marsel’s goal.
“It took many days to understand the group’s dynamics and predict what might happen next, but finally his perseverance paid off with this gift of a perfect situation, with a perfect forest backdrop and perfect light filtering through the canopy. A low flash brought out the glow of the male’s golden locks to complete the perfect portrait.”
The shot was captured with a Nikon D810, Tamron 24–70mm f/2.8 lens, and Nikon SB-910 flash at 24mm, 1/320s, f8, ISO 1600, Nikon SB-910 flash.
Here are the other finalists of this year’s contest:
15-17 Years Old: “Lounging Leopard” by Skye Meaker, South Africa
10 Years and Under: “Pipe Owls” by Arshdeep Singh, India
11-14 Years Old: “Duck of Dreams” by Carlos Perez Naval, Spain
Animals in their Environment: “Bed of Seals” by Cristobal Serrano, Spain
Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles: “Hellbent” by David Herasimtschuk, USA
Behaviour: Invertebrates: “Mud-rolling Mud-dauber” by Georgina Steytler, Australia
Behaviour: Mammals: “Kuhirwa Mourns Her Baby” by Ricardo Núñez Montero, Spain
Plants and Fungi: “Desert Relic” by Jen Guyton by Germany/USA
Under Water: “Night Flight” by Michael Patrick O’Neill, USA
Urban Wildlife: “Crossing Paths” by Marco Colombo, Italy
Earth’s Environments: “Windsweep” by Orlando Fernandez Miranda, Spain
Black and White: “The Vision” by Jan van der Greef, The Netherlands
Creative Visions: “The Ice Pool” by Cristobal Serrano, Spain
Wildlife Photojournalism: “The Sad Clown” by Joan de la Malla, Spain
Wildlife Photojournalist Award: Story: “Signature Tree” by Alejandro Prieto, Mexico
Rising Star Portfolio Award: “Dream Duel” by Michel d’Oultremont, Belgium
Wildlife Photographer Portfolio Award: “Mother Defender” by Javier Aznar González de Rueda, Spain
Hai great article and fantastic pictures. Especially I love those action of animals captured in every image, even I know how difficult it is for capturing these shots in wild. Keep it up!