Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2022 announced: Incredible wildlife photo takes top prize
posted Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 7:01 PM EDT
Nature TTL has announced the winners of its annual Photographer of the Year contest. This year's Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2022 is Dennis Stogsdill from the US. Stogsdill earned the top prize with a fantastic image of a caracal carrying its prey, a colorful flamingo. The image, titled "A Cat and its Prize," earned Stogsdill a £1,500 grand prize, which is equivalent to over $1,800.
"This is nature at its most raw. The caracal is soaked from chasing the flamingos through the waters, but has come out on top," says Will Nicholls, Founder of Nature TTL. "The contrasting colors against the dark surroundings really make this image pop. A wonderful scene to have been able to observe no doubt, let alone capture exquisitely on camera."
Of the photo, captured in Tanzania, Stogsdill writes, "We had received word about a serval hunting birds along the shore of Lake Ndutu (lower Serengeti) so we raced over to see. Upon arrival, we quickly realized that it was in fact a caracal and not a serval, and it was hunting flamingos that were feeding in the shallows. Within a minute of arrival, the caracal started stalking and eventually was successful (in dramatic fashion) at hunting one of the beautiful but unlucky birds. In this image you see the caracal walking off with its prize."
Nature TTL also awarded 13-year-old Achintya Murthy as Young Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2022 for his image of a pair of Malabar parakeets fighting in Karnataka, India.
"Malabar Parakeets are wonderful creatures. They are also called blue winged parakeets. They usually flock together and are seen in huge numbers. In the midst of a bunch of activities, it was my privilege to shoot this image from a bird hide. These two are fighting over a stump that had paddy grains as its feed."
The contest included a total of eight categories: Animal Behavior, Camera Traps, Landscapes, Small World, The Night Sky, Underwater, Urban Wildlife, and Wild Portraits. You can see the winners from each category below. To view the runner-ups from every category and to see more incredible photos from the Nature TTL Photographer of the Year 2022 competition, visit Nature TTL.
"A large grizzly bear passes in front of my camera trap. In the Yukon, Canada, a unique phenomena happens every year. The bears will freeze their fur and stay out until the month of December, despite the temperature reaching as low as -30 degrees Celsius. This picture was taken by a camera trap set up along the river about 2 days before a snow storm. The temperature was starting to drop to -15C, and the bear was only starting to become an 'ice bear."
"A thunderstorm passes over a sunflower which, against the odds, has managed to survive on a rubbish dump in the semi-arid Karoo region of South Africa."
"I managed to photograph this moth in summer at dusk. To keep track of the flight, I used an LED headlight, and I lit the moth with a flash. I made the twilight mood with multi-exposure inside the camera."
"This photo was taken during a trip to Kosciusko, the highest point in Australia. It is also one of the best places to capture the Milky Way, in part thanks to the dark skies."
"A Pink Whipray splitting a school of Bannerfishes, shot against the setting sun on a late afternoon at the famous dive site 'Tuna Factory' that is located close to Malé, the capital of the Maldives. Photographed while SCUBA diving."
"During the daytime this place on the outskirts is totally crowded by people going about their daily business. But at night, it belongs to the animals that come out to play under the streetlights."
"When a huge lion looks you right in the eyes, you immediately forget that you are sitting safely in the car. Instinctively, you cower and slowly retreat deeper inside the car so as not to provoke a predator. Fortunately, he and his brothers were busy consuming the young buffalo that had been hunted several minutes earlier."
Entries for next year's competition will open in January. If you'd like to stay up to date with the contest, be sure to follow Nature TTL on Instagram. Again, to see the rest of the images from the competition, including the incredible runner-up photos, visit Nature TTL.