2008: Creative Visions - Winner
Miguel Lasa (United Kingdom)
Polar sunrise
'So many of the photographs I'd seen of polar bears failed to show the power of the animals or any sense of the harshness of the polar environment. While the bears paced the beach waiting for the ice, I waited for the perfect light. Finally I got the shot I was after - a bear backlit by the first rays of sunlight.' During winter, polar bears live on the frozen seas of the Arctic. In summer, in areas where the ice melts completely like Canada's Hudson Bay, they spend months ashore living on a variety of foods. They will also swim in the water and catch birds. By the time the seas freeze again in autumn they are eager for fresh seal-meat.
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF500mm f4 IS USM lens; 1/1250 sec at f4 (+2/3 compensation); ISO 400.
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