From kangaroos to willow trees: Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award announced
The winning images from the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award have been announced, with a striking shot of willow trees reflected in an icy lake claiming top prize.
Captured by Italian photographer Cristiano Vendramin, the winning image came top in an online vote by more than 31,800 people from a shortlist of 25 images.
Vendramin's winning image was captured when visiting the Santa Croce Lake in northern Italy. He says he noticed the unusually high level of the water and the fact that the willow plants were partially submerged, which created a play of light and reflections on the surface of the lake.
"I hope that my photography will encourage people to understand that the beauty of nature can be found everywhere around us, and we can be pleasantly surprised by the many landscapes so close to home," Vendramin said.
A powerful image from Australia's horror 2019 bushfire season was also recognised, with Canadian photographer Jo-Anne McArthur's image "Hope in a Burned Plantation", captured in a bushfire ravaged forest in Mallacoota, Victoria, highly commended.
Speaking about the image in 2021, McArthur said that as the Australian climate fires raged, she knew that it was a story she had to cover.
"This photo was taken in Mallacoota. When I saw this Eastern Grey kangaroo and her joey, I was maybe 300ft away from where I knew I’d be able to get a fantastic photograph. Any photographer can imagine how long those moments were, as I walked slowly to the spot I knew I needed to be, in order to get this shot.
I walked slowly and she watched me. I prepared my camera with the settings I wanted and finally reached my spot. I took a few photos. I had time to crouch down and take this photo, the one I had envisioned. Then…she hopped away into the burned eucalyptus plantation. She was one of the lucky survivors. An estimated 3 billion animals died from these cataclysmic fires," she wrote on her instagram.
The shortlist of 25 images for the People's Choice Award was chosen by the Natural History Museum from a total of more than 50,000 images from 95 countries entered in the competition in 2021.
The winning image and that of the top four highly commended finalists will be displayed in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition currently running in London at the Natural History Museum.
