2012: Animals in their Environment - Commended
Alessandra Meniconzi (Switzerland)
Rocky stranding
It was late summer in northern Norway, and Alessandra was out in a dingy. But driving snow, terrible wind, poor light and seasickness meant that conditions weren’t ideal for photography. The situation for the polar bear was, however, much worse. The ice around Svalbard had melted, stranding the bear ashore on one of the islands. Its only sustenance was the skeleton of a beached whale, and the bear would have been unable to hunt seals again until the sea froze over several months later.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III + 300mm f2.8 lens; 1/640 sec at f6.3; ISO 800.
View other winners in this category
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Winner Living on thin ice Ole Jørgen Liodden
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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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