2007 15-17 years old - Highly Commended
Tom Steele (United Kingdom)
The emergence
'As part of my wildlife photography degree, I planned to photograph a captive wild animal, so I spent a day at Blackpool Zoo. I picked a moving animal to give the picture creative edge. I then saw this California sea lion swimming on its back. It looks as if its mouth is open, but that's an illusion.' Sea lions, like fur seals, differ anatomically from true seals by being able to rotate their hind flippers under their body, allowing them to walk rather than crawl on land. They use their large fore flippers to swim, where true seals use their hind flippers. Sea lions are found mostly on coasts or offshore islands, feeding on squid, fish and the occasional penguin and fur seal pup.
Canon EOS 1D Mark II N + Canon EF 70-200mm IS f2.8 lens; 1/1000 sec at f2.8; ISO 400 (-0.3 compensation).
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The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine.