2012: Animals in their Environment - Commended
Mark Tatchell (UK)
Where petrels dare
It was blowing a good Southern Ocean gale that December day as Mark’s ship headed south from South Georgia. Huge tabular icebergs, drifting north from the Weddell Sea, gave an extra edge to the windswept journey. Daring snow petrels swooped between them. Mark wanted to capture a shot that would ‘combine the beauty of the ice, the power of the boiling sea and the elegance of the birds in flight’. He caught the moment when a single bird swept close to the wave-cut base of an enormous berg, ‘a wonderful contrast to the harshness of the scene of that unforgettable place’.
Canon EOS 30D + 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 lens at 400mm; 1/1250 sec at f10; ISO 400.
View other winners in this category
-
Winner Living on thin ice Ole Jørgen Liodden
View
-
Runner-up Lion by lightning Hannes Lochner
View
-
Specially Commended Spirit of the forest Paul Nicklen
View
-
Commended Lion in the spotlight Joel Sartore
View
-
Commended Ice birds Jeanine Lovett
View
-
Commended Rocky stranding Alessandra Meniconzi
View
Search the online gallery
Enter a keyword to search for images from this year's competition
Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year is co-owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide.
All intellectual property rights in the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition images are retained by the photographer. Any reproduction of the images without prior written consent will constitute an actionable infringement. For information regarding permission to use competition images please email us.