2005: The Eric Hosking Portfolio Award - Winner
Bence Máté (Hungary)
Grey heron mouthful
The grey heron had to act fast. It had finally managed to jostle its way through the hungry throng to the small ice hole on the frozen lake. And it had landed itself a precious catch. But the fish was too big to gulp down in one go, and the other half-starved herons instantly crowded round and tried to steal the fish right out of its beak. The heron, however, outwitted them all. It bent its head down and pressed the fish, half-swallowed, onto the ice, just 3 metres (10 feet) from Bence's hide. Then it waited, eyeball to eyeball with its catch. The other herons couldn't prise the fish out from that ice-lock. Five minutes later, they had all turned their attention elsewhere.
Canon EOS 1N RS with Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens; 1/1250 sec at f8; Fujichrome Velvia 50; tripod.
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