Nuno Sá (Portugal) Orcas at sunset
'As soon as I dropped into the water off São Miguel Island, in the Azores, one of the males spun round and came straight at me, its six-metre body stiff, as though about to attack. We looked each other in the eye. But I didn't feel any aggression from the whale, just curiosity. The day after, the pod killed a fin whale.' Orcas, or killer whales, are top predators that hunt fish, birds and other marine mammals such as seals, other whales and dolphins. They hunt in pods made up of family members: mothers and offspring. Orcas are found in all the world's oceans, some confined to local areas where they hunt local fish, others cruising much larger distances and hunting what they find.
Canon EOS 20D + Canon 70-200mm f4 IS USM lens at 70mm; 1/80 sec at f13; ISO 200. This photograph is available to buy as a print.
Nature in Black and WhiteThe subject can be any wild landscape, plant or living creature. The judges look for skilful use of the black-and-white medium.
Winner: Carlos Virgili (Spain) Sun jelly
'There were thousands of jellyfish pulsing through the water off Badalona, Spain, and they stretched for more than a kilometre. I focussed on this 30-centimetre shiff-arms jellyfish, shooting in black-and-white to emphasise the sensual form and the contrasting textures.' Shiff-arms, or football, jellyfish look dangerous, but are harmless - unless you are plankton. The ball-sized jellyfish feed on the tiny animals, plants and bacteria that drift in the ocean currents by sucking in sea water. They take the water in through their mouth arms, what look like tentacles hanging around their head and which are covered in many tiny pores. So they don't need stinging tentacles to attack prey.
Nikon D2x + 12-24mm f4 Nikkor lens; 1/500 sec at f16 (-0.7 compensation); ISO 100; Subal housing. This photograph is available to buy as a print.
Guillaume Bily (France) Storm terns
'The power of the storm was impressive, and as it churned up the sea off Iceland, the waves smashed onto the beach, chipping shards of ice from the frozen edge. Dipping over the waves was a huge flock of Arctic terns, diving for small fish in the breakers with ease. I was struck by how delicate they looked against the powerful seascape and the way they swooped in synchrony with the storm-fuelled waves.' Arctic terns fly non-stop for eight months of the year, as they journey from their northern breeding grounds in the Arctic south to the Antarctic and back again. They feed as they go, resting on the sea. It's the longest migration of any bird on Earth.
Nikon D2x + Nikon 300mm f4 lens; 1/15 sec at f32; ISO 100; tripod.
Fergus Kennedy (United Kingdom) Little big mouth
'I hit the whale shark jackpot in the Gulf of Tadjourah, in Djibouti, when I found myself snorkelling among a filter-feeding frenzy of these giant fish. Below me, emerging from the depths, rose a small one, just three metres long. The bold shapes and textures were perfect in black-and-white. I waited to take the shot until the shark reached a point where its head was lit by the late-afternoon sunbeams.' The whale shark, which can grow up to 12 metres long, is the biggest shark in the world. But despite its size, it's completely harmless to humans, feeding on tiny animals instead. It glides slowly around with its huge mouth open, drawing water in over its gills and sieving out the shrimps, plankton and small fish.
Canon EOS 5D + Sigma 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens; 1/80 sec at f6.3; ISO 200; Ikelite housing. This photograph is available to buy as a print.
Creative Visions of NaturePhotographs should take inspiration from nature, but reveal new ways of seeing natural subjects or scenes. They can be figurative, abstract or conceptual and use any format, but must provoke an emotional or thought-provoking reaction, whether through their beauty or imaginative interpretation.
Winner: Miguel Lasa (United Kingdom) Polar sunrise
'So many of the photographs I'd seen of polar bears failed to show the power of the animals or any sense of the harshness of the polar environment. While the bears paced the beach waiting for the ice, I waited for the perfect light. Finally I got the shot I was after - a bear backlit by the first rays of sunlight.' During winter, polar bears live on the frozen seas of the Arctic. In summer, in areas where the ice melts completely like Canada's Hudson Bay, they spend months ashore living on a variety of foods. They will also swim in the water and catch birds. By the time the seas freeze again in autumn they are eager for fresh seal-meat.
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF500mm f4 IS USM lens; 1/1250 sec at f4 (+2/3 compensation); ISO 400. This photograph is available to buy as a print.
Michel Roggo (Switzerland) Ghost of a March hare
'Editing my photographs, I came across this shot I'd taken in Seeland, Switzerland, which I almost deleted. It broke all the rules - it was out of focus, with the animal running out of the picture. But the more I looked at it, the more it represented to me the nature of hares - bolting briefly into view and then disappearing like ghosts.' Hares usually hide from predators. But if discovered, they will try to outrun them, their long hind legs able to propel them up to 70 kilometres per hour. A female only mates for a few hours every six weeks, so when it's ready the males have a task to fight each other off. Usually they mate at night, but by March the nights are getting shorter and the hares more visible, hence the expression 'mad as a March hare'.
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF500mm f4 IS USM lens with Canon EF 1.4 II extender; 1/160 sec at f16; ISO 200.
15-17 years oldWinner: Catriona Parfitt (United Kingdom) The show
'As it walked slowly towards the waterhole at Hobatere Lodge in Namibia, this solitary giraffe kept looking over towards four lions on a nearby ridge. One of the lions, an ambitious young male, raced down from the ridge to chase the giraffe for some distance, watched by the assembled oryx.' Lions are the giraffe's main predators, and giraffes are particularly vulnerable to attack when lying down, drinking or feeding from the ground. Unlike females, male giraffes tend to live alone, which also makes them more open to predation.
Canon EOS 400D + Canon EF300mm f4 IS USM lens + Canon EF 1.4 extender; 1/200 sec at f5.6; ISO 100. This photograph is available to buy as a print.
Mathias Blix (Norway) Diver lift-off
'Being such a heavy bird, the diver needed lots of space to get airborne, which gave me a few seconds to prepare. As it picked up speed on this small lake in southern Sweden, I tracked it, wanting to keep the blur of wings to show the energy needed to lift it off the water, but taking care to keep its head in focus.' Perfectly adapted to its aquatic lifestyle, the red-throated diver is an effective hunter, diving as deep as seven-and-a-half metres to catch its prey and remaining submerged for up to 90 seconds. Although clumsy on land, it's a strong flyer and has been known to reach speeds of 78 kilometres per hour.
Nikon D200 + 200-400mm f4 VR lens at 380mm; 1/60 sec at f6.3; ISO 200.
Tom Mills (United Kingdom) Battle of the bears
'Three huge males in Spitsbergen, Norway, were tearing into a bearded seal carcass, as a starving female with a cub watched from nearby ice. Once two of the bears had moved away from the kill, the female swam over, drove off the remaining male and managed to feed for a few seconds. In the meantime, a male hauled up on the ice near the cub, whose frantic cries brought its mother to the rescue.' Pregnant polar bear females usually go into their den to overwinter and give birth. They usually have twins or, less often, single cubs. Female polar bears are very thin when they emerge from their dens after suckling their cubs, so they need to hunt.
Nikon D70 + Tamron 70-300mm lens at 300mm; 1/320 sec at f6.3.
Michal Budzyński (Poland) Last breath of autumn
'The previous day had been sunny, but overnight snow extinguished the glow. As we drove down the mountain, I looked back and glimpsed in the distance a single last glowing patch of gold. For some reason, the snow must have slid off the branches of the beech trees but stuck to the firs, creating the breathtaking view.'
Nikon D80 + Nikkor 300mm lens; 1/400 sec at f5.6; ISO 125. This photograph is available to buy as a print
Safie Al Khaffaf (Russia) Night griffon
'As darkness fell on the Kirtik River, on the Russian side of the Caucasus mountains, my torch illuminated a pair of eyes. Just metres away was a griffon vulture. I was shocked - and impressed by how striking the bird was close up. I quickly shot two portraits before it hissed loudly and launched off into the night.' The griffon vulture is not the prettiest of birds: bald head, dull white ruff feathers, dark flight feathers and a piercing gaze. Like most vultures, it scavenges flesh from animal carcasses. Its beak is too weak to rip open fresh hides so it relies on mammal predators to do that for it.
Nikon D70; 200mm lens; 1/60 sec at f6.7; ISO 200; Nikon speedlight SB-800. This photograph is available to buy as a print.
11-14 years oldWinner: Jean de Falandre (France) Deer magic
'During my autumn school holiday, I worked out the best place to watch the red deer in Sologne, a huge wild area south of Paris. When this doe and fawn arrived one morning the light was good, but it was hard choosing the right shutter speed, because deer move so fast.' Red deer are the largest land animals native to the UK, and are widespread across most of the northern hemisphere. Males and females live in separate groups, except in the mating season. At this time of year, males fight for the best territories. They strut side-by-side, sizing each other up, until the smaller male usually retreats. If the males are evenly matched, however, they lock antlers in a fight.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 + 71mm lens; 1/20 sec at f3.6; ISO 200.
Jesse Heikkinen (Finland) Whooper delight
'I'd spent the afternoon photographing the swans from a hide in Kuusamo, Finland. The session began in bright sunlight, with the swans quietly going about their business. Then, suddenly, everything changed - the scene became wintry and the swans were bewitched by the snow. They started shouting and I started shooting.' The whooper swan's distinctive call sounds a bit like an old-fashioned car horn. It's made by a specially modified windpipe, which is coiled up in the bird's breast bone. This Eurasian species breeds in the far north, migrating south to spend the winters in coastal lowlands.
Nikon D70 + Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 lens; 1/50 sec at f5.6; ISO 200.
Caroline Christmann (United States of America) Grizzly leap
'My father said keep absolutely still, sweetie, or you may trigger the chase and kill instinct. The breeze wafted the bear's wet-old-dog scent over me. I snapped it with only 10 metres of Alaskan soil between us. I managed to stay still and keep my camera steady. I saved the shaking for later.' The brown or grizzly bear feeds by pouncing on its prey, skilfully trapping salmon under its massive paws. Once caught, it carries the fish to the bank and rips its head off with a crunching pop. Salmon are an important part of the diet of North American brown bears as they prepare for hibernation.
Canon EOS Rebel XT + 300mm zoom lens; 1/400 sec at f7; ISO 1000. This photograph is available to buy as a print.
Martin Gregus (Slovakia) White on blue
'I often go to a quay near my home in Vancouver, Canada, to take photographs of cruise ships and birds. After weeks of constant rain, it was a relief to head out on a cold, sunny day. The herring gulls obviously thought so, too, because they seemed more animated than usual. I like the sharp, contrasting colours of this shot, and the way the pristine white tail feathers fan out against the bright light.' The herring gull is one of the most common coastal birds in Europe and North America. A predator and opportunist, these large, noisy birds will eat almost anything. They have adapted well to living around humans and frequently scavenge from rubbish tips and fishing harbours.
Nikon D70 + 80-400mm f4.5-5.6 AF VR Nikkor lens at 300mm; 1/2000 sec at f5.6; ISO 200. This photograph is available to buy as a print.
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