Tells the power of life, the power of birth, but also of the struggle to survivea: è «Creation», the photo (cover of this article) taken by the French biologist and underwater photographer Laurent Ballesta who just won the Grand Title al Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the most important contest dedicated to nature photos, organized by the Natural History Museum of London.
«Creation» portrays a flock of groupers swimming in a milky cloud in the moment of spawning in Fakarava, French Polynesia: a unique moment, which occurs only once a year, during the full moon in July, and increasingly rare given that the species is threatened with extinction threatened by intensive fishing.
The Polynesian lagoon is one of the few places where these fish still manage to live free, because it is a reserve, and to photograph them in this magical moment Ballesta has been lurking every year for 5 years together with his entire team.
Rosamund “Roz” Kidman, president of the jury, as well as writer and journalist, commented: «The image is surprising, energetic and intriguing and has an otherworldly beauty». Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, continued: “Laurent Ballesta’s creation is a compelling reminder of what we can lose».
The other coveted prize of the competition, Young Wildlife Photographer, went to instead Vidyun R Hebbar: a 10-year-old boy from Bengaluru, India who took a spectacular photo of a spider trapped in a tent. His image and that of Ballesta were selected from among 50,000 from 95 countries, among which the jury – as always on the basis of originality, narrative, technique – also chose a winner for each of the 19 categories in the race that tell of the wonders of the animal world but also of the dangers they run due to global warming. In the gallery above you will find some of the most significant.
The images – of which there are 100 in all – will be on display at the Natural History Museum from 15 October, before touring the UK and other countries around the world. From 18 October it will be possible to register for next year’s edition of the competition. Info at www.nhm.ac.uk
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