Wild Animals

A treat from Tonga. Seeing a humpback is always exciting but after a long period of persecution from whaling I never get tired of seeing calves. The relatively baron and safer waters of the South Pacific give mothers and calves time to ween before heading north to more plankton rich seas to feed, but with that comes predators. Love the sunshine punching through the broken surface of the water here. A lovely angle with lots of breathing space around the animal beautiful skin and water surface texture.

Lovely example of a proud dominant male in his prime. Once these quail find a mate they become very aggressive toward other pairs and hold a firm grip over their territory. They don't often take flight so to see this animal up on a branch in the throws of a mating call is a treat. Nicely done.

Adore this image. A Pine marten is great in any light but this is a combination of wonderful light and colours. That natural side/rear light kisses those fine hairs of its coat and gives the animal a twinkle in that nice crisply focused eye. The low POV has bedded the subject partially down in that heather which seems to wrap around the animal and disappear off in to the background. Paul Hollywood handshake from me.

I always think Iceland feels a bit like a newborn planet in places, but wherever you go you're never too far from these dudes. So full of character and mostly habituated means you can get close to these pure bloods. Being on the eastern coastline means missing out on those sun kissed peaks but as a reward you've come away with a lovely moment. Great frame and processing. Good example of how to use wide glass well.

Who doesn't love a Harrier hawk! Plenty of raptors are not above scavenging, a great example of opportunistic behaviour from this remarkably posed bird. Wings held high and wide to impose it's size on any other would-be predators that fancy a quick and easy meal. Love all these colours moving through the primary feathers. Depth of field choice adding to the drama off the moment.

A lot of factors came together here and I appreciate the effort involved. Good anticipation of behaviour resulted in a very rich silhouette. With the Arabian oryx having come close, arguably even having crossed over the line of extinction, this image has a great poignance to it. It could almost be the last of it's kind going into the darkness with the sun.

Without any predators on land, King penguins can often be inquisitive of people and crews that are operating around South Georgia. This frame is full of their character I would say. For birds that have striking dashes of colour it was brave to choose to submit a black & white, but I think this high contrast has paid off. Nice to see those little jewels of beaded water on this penguin's front.

There's a lot you could unpack from this photograph, which is what I want asked of me when looking at Natural History. The jelly is moving in a pleasing diagonal direction through frame and the light is beautiful. So many textures and kisses of colour as a result. Technically it's a good photo. Artistically I would argue how It shows this organism, itself made up of a colony, is also a habitat for a small colony of fish that are living in and around it. Much like a tiny delicate Earth moving though space providing essential shelter and protection.

Beautiful image full of warmth and texture, really brought to life by the slight side light. As someone who is used to being covered in bees in the Congo I appreciate the calm approach to taking the photograph. For the most part the majority of bee species are quite happy to be approached as long as you remain calm and non intrusive. Depending on the species, the colony will mass around the queen during transit before scouting ahead. Would've been interesting to witness. Great shot of arguably the most important animal on the planet.

Unfortunately this has been shot at a shutter speed thats just not fast enough for the occasion. Had it been sharp it wouldn't have required as much processing correcting, thus would've been much further up the list. Definitely deserving of the top 10 as it is genuinely an incredible frame of a more incredible moment! The bear is positioned perfectly, with the moss falling in just the right places between the animal and the camera. I am guessing this is the Hoh rainforest but could be wrong, nevertheless a treat to see a Spectacled bear. Good work Jacquie.

I've wanted to visit Singapore for this very reason. These famous urban otters have been captured in a beautiful light but I would say there is a hint of over processing. A really well considered frame of the city which gives the impression of where the wilderness ends and the metropolis of humans begin. The ripples encircling our two subjects poised at just the right moment. Beautiful.

It's great to see an apex predator with its teeth bared. During predation attempts this wouldn't be the case, clearly this jacket is scaring the corvids away from a kill or some such scenario. Unfortunately noisy and perhaps cropped a little close (at a guess) means we have lost some detail. This is acceptable to keep from motion blur on the subject, but would've been nice to see some more movement in the crows. Great moment.

I absolutely love this image. The light is just right and allows us to see the way the cobra is kissed by those hints of iridescent colours. The surroundings and similar colours show just how easy it is for this animal to go unnoticed. Thought this was a Monocled however? I need to brush up on my species ident. The only reason this isn't in my Top 10 is the focus was missed. Always focus on the eye.

I would revisit this image for a fresh start at editing. It seems to have nearly all the ingredients of being a marvellous frame! That slight cropping of the hoof bothers me and as a whole theres far too much colour correction going on. The leopard is poised perfectly around it's quarry. With more natural colouring, the textures and colours from the tree would compliment the camouflage coat of the leopard and give more insight to the nature of the animal.

Often emulated but rarely done well, this is a lovely frame of a Wildebeest at speed. Perfect amount of movement in the legs and they're tucked in ready for that next burst of energy which makes the image far more pleasing than if they were extended. Good job on keeping the eye as sharp as you could for the light at the time. Next time will be spot on I'm sure!

Hi Tony, Just a quick note to say I think this image is wonderful. A great memory of a wonderful moment I hope. As someone who's involved with re-wilding its a shot I can relate to. Hope you have a copy on your wall. Best, PJB