Animals in the Snow

What a delightful shot of this snowy, hairy bison. Captured head-on gives real impact, especially with the eyes firmly locked on the photographer. I love the capture of the textures throughout and we get a real sense of how this creature would feel if we dared to touch. The conversion to black and white has also been very well done, with a great range of tones. Well done on your top ten placing.

This image has perfectly captured these beautiful horses but also gives a real sense of the harsh landscape in which they live, with the surrounding snow and the wind blowing their manes. Great composition and framing as we are in nice and close to see lots of detail, but still have context by including some surrounding. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

The capture of the light really makes this image. There is a touch of weak wintery sunlight combined with the cool light of a midwinter day. Exposure has been really well controlled; not easy when photographing a landscape dominated by snow, as it can be all to easy to under or over expose the shot. Not so here, whith the snow nice and bright, but not overly so. I love the layering of the landscape, with the eye initially drawn to the sheep in the foreground before wandering to the church in the mid-distance and finally the hills rising up in the background. Congratulations on your winning image.

A simple but effective image, capturing the intense concentration of this predator using all its senses to find its prey, no doubt providing a welcome meal in the challenging winter months. There is just enough shadow under the body of the coyote to keep it 'grounded' to prevent I looking like a cutout against the stark background. The snowy backdrop is nice and bright but does not dominate, ensuring full attention is on this beautiful creature. Congratulations on your third place finish.

A stunning image, capturing these beautiful boxing hares wonderfully backlit to illuminate the creatures with beautiful rim lighting, revealing the soft textures of the fur and long whiskers, and the powdery snow being lifted into the air during this physical interaction. A fast shutter speed has frozen the action, and although the hares have been rendered static, still creates a very dynamic shot. Congratulations on your second place finish.