2007: Underwater Worlds - Highly Commended
Paul Nicklen (Canada)
Love of a leopard seal
'From the first time I got in the water with this massive female leopard seal in Antarctica, it seemed to attempt to communicate with me. Every day, it would offer me penguins, dead and alive, like this chinstrap. When I kept refusing to eat the offerings, it looked agitated before going to get me another penguin.' True seals (not fur seals or sea lions) apart from monk seals live away from the tropics, mainly in polar regions. This may explain why they are not really threatened by human activity. Some are, however, killed for their skins by aboriginal people and some commercial hunts remain. The ethics of hunting seals is hotly debated.
Canon EOS 1D Mark II + Canon 17-40mm f4 lens; 1/60 sec at f8; Seacam housing; two Ikelite ss125 strobes.
View other winners in this category
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Adult awards Giant feast Felipe Barrio
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Adult awards Teeth exposure Paul Nicklen
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Adult awards The mysterious narwhal Paul Nicklen
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Adult awards Fish roundup Alec Connah
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Adult awards Goliath Douglas David Seifert
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Adult awards Big fish, little fish Len Deeley
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Adult awards Red-lips Patrick Weir
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