2012: Animals in their Environment - Winner
Ole Jørgen Liodden (Norway)
Living on thin ice
Ole had photographed polar bears more than a hundred times before around the islands of Svalbard, northern Norway, but on this particular summer evening, everything came together to sum up the bear and its ice environment. ‘The landscape, the shape of the ice floe, the shape of the bear and the footprints were just perfect,’ says Ole. Drifting ice is normal for midsummer in the region. But, says Ole, two weeks later, all the ice around Svalbard had melted, much earlier than in previous years. ‘I hope the picture also makes people think about an environment that is disappearing faster than most of us realise and appreciate the scary future most polar bears are facing, with ever-thinner ice or no ice at all.’
Nikon D3S + 14-24mm f2.8 lens; 1/400 sec at f11; ISO 1000.
View other winners in this category
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Runner-up Lion by lightning Hannes Lochner
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Specially Commended Spirit of the forest Paul Nicklen
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Commended Where petrels dare Mark Tatchell
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Commended Lion in the spotlight Joel Sartore
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Commended Ice birds Jeanine Lovett
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Commended Rocky stranding Alessandra Meniconzi
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