Image description
I think that a good picture does not need colour, it just needs to capture the desired moment in time. While I was shooting Crested Caracaras in flight in South Texas, I noticed these two, which were perched in a very similar way. They were staring in the same direction and not moving, almost as if they were posing for me. I was amazed by their powerful personalities.
Shortlist
Charly Clerisse
Pretty in Pink
This very shy subject – a Bargibanti Pygmy Seahorse – was photographed in the Indo-Pacific in Tulamben, Bali.
© Charly Clerisse, France, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Arnfinn Johansen
The River Crossing
Wildebeest crossing the crocodile-infested Mara River, July 2022.
© Arnfinn Johansen, Norway, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Alex Pansier
Frozen Feet
A chinstrap penguin on an iceberg.
© Alex Pansier, Netherlands, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Patrick Ems
Proud
A goat stands proud, enjoying the last rays of light in front of the majestic Aiguille du Grépon peak in France.
© Patrick Ems, Switzerland, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Tibor Prisznyák
Untitled
Morning vision.
© Tibor Prisznyák, Hungary, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Pietro Formis
Home Alone
A brown comber (Serranus hepatus) hiding inside a discarded rubbish bin on the sea bottom. The bin is completely covered with yellow and red crinoids – beautiful decorations for the wall of this house.
© Pietro Formis, Italy, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Marcio Esteves Cabral
Pandora
These wildflowers are a species of Paepalanthus that grow in the highlands of Veadeiros, Brazil, and are my favourite plant to photograph. I took this photograph at night, using a lantern to illuminate the firework-like flowers, with the arch of the Milky Way above. It took several attempts, as I needed to capture the flowers without any wind to avoid motion blur during the long exposure.
© Marcio Esteves Cabral, Brazil, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Vince Burton
Eye on the Prize
A barn owl (Tyto alba) selects and captures its prey.
© Vince Burton, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
subrata dey
Kingdom of the Parakeet
The photograph was taken in the Gumai Bill area of Rangunia, Chittagong. The crops produced here can provide three days of food for the people of Bangladesh. When the paddy is ripe, thousands of parrots come down from the hills. Parrots usually prefer undisturbed areas, which is why this area could be called a ‘parrot sanctuary’.
© subrata dey, Bangladesh, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Jose Manuel Grandio
Stoat's game
Scientists have often witnessed stoats engaging in displays like this, but opinions are divided about what motivates the leaps and twists. Sometimes, the dances are performed in front of a rabbit or large bird in an apparent attempt to confuse or distract potential prey, but on other occasions – as here – there is no prey animal in sight. A third hypothesis is that it is an involuntary response to a parasitic infection.
© Jose Manuel Grandio, Spain, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Protap Shekhor Mohanto
The Captivating Eyes
This spotted owlet was photographed from a hide at the National Botanical Garden of Bangladesh. During the day these amazing birds tend to hide in nests made in the holes of tree trunks, but they sometimes peep out to observe their surroundings with their captivating yellow eyes.
© Protap Shekhor Mohanto, Bangladesh, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Andrea Michelutti
My precious
This Mantis shrimp embraces and protects its treasure: thousands of eggs. It takes a few minutes to obtain this visual contact with both eyes, considering they can be moved independently in all directions. Spot lighting was achieved using a snoot, a device that narrows the beam of the flash down to a small point. Harlequin mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) with eggs, photographed underwater in the Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
© Andrea Michelutti, Italy, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
James Hunter
Puffin at Sunset
I was photographing the sunset near a small village on the Faroe Islands. With the sun at my back I was hoping to capture a nice golden glow on the village beneath me. While I was waiting, a pair of puffins joined me, and as it started to rain I lay down and photographed this one in the spectacular light.
© James Hunter, United States, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Mark Fitzsimmons
Climate Change
In the area surrounding Nordenskjøld Land National Park in Svalbard (Spitsbergen), a lone polar bear is exposed on rocks where a decade ago there was a glacier. Despite relatively healthy numbers in the Svalbard region of the Arctic, polar bears face many issues, including increased human/wildlife conflict, warmer summers and receding glaciers.
© Mark Fitzsimmons, Australia, Shortlist, Open Competition, Natural World & Wildlife, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS EXHIBITION, 17 APRIL - 4 MAY