Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Alexander Badyaev (Russia/USA)

Midnight snack

Alexander’s research cabin in the Blackfoot Valley, Montana, USA, is permanently occupied. But not by him. He just goes there every so often to work. Instead a range of forest creatures makes full use of the shelter and food remains. He doesn’t see much of them, but there are always signs, particularly in the kitchen. ‘I had long suspected that a family of mice was living under my cooker and tasting my food,’ he says. ‘Then, late one evening, I returned to retrieve a peanut-buttered slice of bread I’d left briefly in the kitchen and discovered a deer mouse sampling it. When it disappeared into the hob, I grabbed my camera, quickly put a flash on the shelf behind the cooker, and when the mouse popped up again, shot a single frame. It took much longer to convince myself to finish my snack.’

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV + 16-35mm lens at 25mm; 1/200 sec at f18; ISO 250; two Speedlite 430EXII flashes.