Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 Winners Announced

The National History Museum has announced the winners of the fiftieth Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition.

American photographer Michael “Nick” Nichols was named Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 by a panel of international judges for his serene black-and-white image of lions resting with their cubs in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park.

Eight-year-old Carlos Perez Naval was awarded Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 for his image of a scorpion soaking up the Sun near his hometown in Spain.

The winning images will be on show at the Museum with other shortlisted pictures from Friday 24 October until Sunday 30 August 2015. The exhibition will then embark on an international tour across six continents.

Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols was named Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014

Michael “Nick” Nichols is the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 – “The last great picture”

Lazing lions take pride of place in fiftieth Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The top awards for the fiftieth Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition were announced this evening at a glittering ceremony held at London’s Natural History Museum.

The winners received their awards from the Museum Patron, The Duchess of Cambridge, Sir David Attenborough, wildlife presenter Liz Bonnin and renowned wildlife photographer Frans Lanting.

American photographer Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols was named Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 by a panel of international judges for his serene black-and-white image of lions resting with their cubs in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. Eight-year-old Carlos Perez Naval was awarded Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014 for his image of a scorpion soaking up the Sun near his hometown in Spain.

These two images will be on show at the Museum with other shortlisted images from Friday 24 October until Sunday 30 August 2015.

Nichols’ photograph beat more than 42,000 entries from 96 countries to the grand title award. Following the pride for nearly six months meant they were used to his presence as he photographed them in infra-red, which he explains, ‘transforms the light and turns the moment into something primal, biblical almost’. Nichols set out to create an archetypal image that would express both the essence of lions and how we visualise them, a picture of a time past, before lions were under such threat. Here, the five females of the Vumbi pride – a ‘formidable and spectacularly co-operative team’ – lie at rest with their cubs on a rocky outcrop. Shortly before he took the shot, they had attacked and driven off one of the two pride males. Now they were lying close together, calmly sleeping.

Jim Brandenburg, chair of the judging panel and acclaimed wildlife photographer, said: ‘Nick’s image encapsulated so many elements that demonstrated artistic and technical skill, the sort that takes many years of professional work to hone and craft as he has done’.

Carlos Perez Naval is the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014

Eight-year-old Carlos Perez Naval’s image, Sunbathing At dusk, shows the scorpion flourishing its sting as a warning to the young photographer, who had found it basking on a flat stone in a rocky area near his home in Torralba de los Sisones, northeast Spain. The late afternoon light was casting such a lovely glow over the scene that Carlos decided to experiment with his first ever double exposure to include the Sun.

The exhibition will embark on an international tour across six continents, giving millions of people the chance to see some of the world’s most spectacular wildlife photography.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest will return as of January 5 next year, so make sure you are ready to enter the competition!

Enter the next Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition from 5 January 2015 – 26 February 2015. It’s open to all professional, amateur and young photographers. For details see www.wildlifephotographeroftheyear.com.

The winners of the other categories:

• Mammals: Alexander Badyaev (Russia / USA);
• Birds: Bence Mate (Hungary);
• Amphibians and Reptiles: Raviprakash S S (India);
• Invertebrates: Ary Bassous (Brazil);
• Plants and Fungi: Cristian Vizl (Mexico);
• Underwater Species: Indra Swari Wonowidjojo (Indonesia);
• Earth’s Environments: Francisco Negroni (Chile);
• Natural Design: Patrik Bartuska (Czech Republic);
• TIMElapse: Paul Klaver (Netherlands);
• World in Our Hands: Bruno D’Amicis (Italy);
• Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year: Brent Stirton (South Africa);
• Rising Star Portfolio: Michel d’Oultremont (Belgium);
• Portfolio: Tim Laman (USA);
• People’s Choice: Marsel van Oosten (Netherlands).

To download a selection of the winning images click here