Photography

On the hunt with the 2021 Nature InFocus Photo Contest winners

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Special Mention - Animal Behaviour. Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. The image shows a piglet running for its life as a lioness closes in.
Kushal Guttedar
Winner - Young-Photographer. Bangalore, Karnataka. This image of a grasshopper resting on a flowering plant was shot in a park on the city outskirts.
Anagha Mohan
2nd Runner up - Animal Behaviour. Kolkata, West Bengal.
Shuvam Sadhukhan
Runner up - Animal Portraits. Okavango Delta, Botswana. During his visit to the Okavango Delta, the photographer chanced upon a pride of lions hunting buffalos. The next night, a pack of 30 hyenas tried to steal the kill from the lions. This image was made the following day when a lone lion was feeding on one of the carcasses.
Panos Laskarakis
Runner up - Conservation-Issues. Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. A Russell's Viper—making its way through a paddy field as women continue to do their work.
Gnaneswar Ch
Runner up - Young Photographer. Dharwad, Karnataka. Most orb-weaver spiders weave a new web every day and tend to be active during the evening hours.
Anirudh Kamakeri
2nd Runner up - Creative Nature Photography. Balayan Bay, Anilao, Luzon, Philippines. A pelagic juvenile Wunderpus (Wunderpus photogenicus n. sp.) hunting in midwater.
Magnus Lundgren
Second Runner up - Wildscape and Animals in Habitat. Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand. An Indian Leopard holds a spooked expression as he triggers a camera trap placed amidst the forests in the Terai region of Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Shivang Mehta
Winner - Animal Behaviour. Bandipur National Park, Karnataka. The leopardess was deep in slumber high up on a tree branch when awakened by the alarm calls of a Malabar Giant Squirrel.
Priyanka Rahut Mitra
Winner - Animal-Portraits. The photographer spent more than two months observing and documenting the behaviour of Arabian Red Fox families near their dens in the Kuwait region.
Mohammad Murad
Winner - Conservation Issues. Bihar. A lone Gharial is portrayed against the backdrop of construction work, highlighting their changing habitats.
Mahisin Khan
Winner - Creative Nature Photography. Ajoba Parvat, Maharashtra. The spores of a bracket fungus (Polypores) create a vast spectrum of colours when lit from an angle.
Prathamesh Ghadekar
Winner - Wildscape and Animals in Habitat. El Rosario Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. A gigantic kaleidoscope of Monarch butterflies sits huddled together on Oyamel Fir trees in the overwintering grounds in the mountains of central Mexico.
Lakshitha Karunarathna
Second Runner up - Conservation Issues. Drass, Ladakh. The dogs seen here were feral, but the locals domesticated them to later employ them to deter Himalayan Brown Bears from entering their villages.
Karamjeet Singh
Runner up - Wildscape & Animals in Habitat. Nagarahole National Park, Karnataka
Divya Dwarak
Special Mention - Animal Portraits. Marakele National Park, South Africa. The African Bush Elephant, also known as the African Savanna Elephant, prefers open savannas, forests and deserts as habitats.
Staffan Widstrand Swd
Special Mention - Animal Behaviour. Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. The image shows a piglet running for its life as a lioness closes in.
Kushal Guttedar
Runner up - Animal Behaviour. Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan. Tigers are not the ones to share space, and the crocodile is learning that the hard way as it gets ousted from felid territory.
Rajat Subhra Pramanick
View gallery - 17 images

From a lioness racing after her prey, to a pack of wild dogs herding a bear, this year's Nature inFocus Photography Contest delivers a spectacular assortment of wonderful wildlife imagery celebrating the best of the nature photography in 2021.

Initially started in 2014 as a platform to create a community of photographers in India, Nature inFocus has grown to include a festival and an annual nature photography contest. The Nature inFocus Photography Contest has now grown into an international photo competition, this year gathering around 18,000 submissions from photographers spanning 40 countries.

“The Nature InFocus Photography & Film Contest is more than just a competition,” explains Rohit Varma, one of the contest’s founders. “It is about inspiring people to do more with their cameras. To think beyond the ordinary, to make images and films that stand out and can drive action.”

Runner up - Animal Behaviour. Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan. Tigers are not the ones to share space, and the crocodile is learning that the hard way as it gets ousted from felid territory.
Rajat Subhra Pramanick

The competition spans five simple categories: Animal Portraits, Animal Behavior, Conservation Issues, Creative Nature Photography, and Wildlife & Animals in Habitat. Alongside winners in those five categories an additional Young Photographer of the Year award is offered.

“I am a great fan of India and its exceptional biodiversity and was genuinely honored when asked to judge this competition,” says wildlife photographer Andy Rouse, a judge in this year’s contest. “And wow, what a great collection of images! It was so good to see the true breadth of the diversity of India's wildlife and the incredible skill with which photographers have executed their photographs.”

Winner - Animal-Portraits. The photographer spent more than two months observing and documenting the behaviour of Arabian Red Fox families near their dens in the Kuwait region.
Mohammad Murad

A highlight in this year’s contest is Mohammad Murad’s stunningly composed shot of a Red Fox in Kuwait. Winning the Animal Portrait category, Murad’s shot is the culmination of spending several months getting the foxes comfortable with his presence.

Karamjeet Singh’s unique look at feral dogs herding a Himalayan Brown Bear took a runner-up spot in Conservation Issues. The extraordinary image illustrates how local villagers in Ladakh have trained the dogs to keep wild bears out of town.

Second Runner up - Conservation Issues. Drass, Ladakh. The dogs seen here were feral, but the locals domesticated them to later employ them to deter Himalayan Brown Bears from entering their villages.
Karamjeet Singh

Other top shots in this year’s contest include a tiger warning a crocodile to keep off its territory, a lioness hunting a tiny piglet, and a gorgeous shot of an African Bush Elephant sheltering behind an elephant-shaped shrub.

Take a look through our gallery at more highlights from this impressive nature photography contest.

Source: Nature inFocus

View gallery - 17 images
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