2005: Animal Portraits - Winner
Alexander Mustard (United Kingdom)
Snapper shoal
The Bohar snapper is as fearsome as it looks, being one of the larger reef predators in the Red Sea (this one was about 70 centimetres - 27 inches). Alexander travelled to Ras Mohamed National Park at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, in June, specifically to photograph snappers and other fish during their spawning season. Snappers are normally solitary, but when spawning, they are found in huge aggregations. Alexander wanted to illuminate the strange face of the fish, while at the same time give an impression of the menacing scale of the gathering. But it's snappers themselves that are in danger, as outside the safety of the park, fishermen will target shoals, catching them before the fish have had a chance to spawn.
Nikon D100 with Nikon 105mm f2.8 lens; 1/45 sec at f13; 200 ISO; Subal underwater housing, Cobra head and Subtronic flash.
View other winners in this category
-
Adult awards Fox washing Bence Máté
View
-
Adult awards Glare of the great owl Scott Sharkey
View
-
Adult awards Gorilla in the rain Joe Mcdonald
View
-
Adult awards Red deer headgear Danny Green
View
-
Adult awards Waiting for mother Thomas Sbampato
View
-
Adult awards Great grey owl pounce Jari Peltomäki
View
Search the online gallery
Enter a keyword to search for images from the 2005 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.