A Frenchman has been named “Wildlife Photographer 2021” with spawning groupers. The jury is enthusiastic: The photo captures a truly explosive creation in life.
London – With a spectacular underwater photo of groupers spawning, Frenchman Laurent Ballesta has been named Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021.
The biologist held the fish in a milky cloud of eggs and sperm in front of the Pacific atoll of Fakarava. The photo “Creation” was selected from more than 50,000 submissions from 95 countries, as announced by the Natural History Museum in London.
“Supernatural Beauty”
“The picture works on so many levels,” said jury chief Rosamund Kidman Cox. “It’s surprising, energetic and fascinating, and has an unearthly beauty.” The photo captures a magical moment, a truly explosive creation of life. With a view to the current World Conservation Conference in Kunming and the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, Museum Director Doug Gurr emphasized that “Creation” is “a convincing reminder of what we will lose if we do not address the impact of humanity on our planet”.
Ballesta and his team had traveled to the Fakarava lagoon every year for five years and were underwater there day and night. The groupers only spawn there around the full moon in July.
Zeltspinne mit Tuk-Tuk
Ten-year-old Vidyun R Hebbar can call himself Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year. His award-winning photo shows a spider and its tent-like web, a tuk-tuk drives past in the background. The boy from India took part in the competition at the age of eight and likes to photograph living things in the streets and parks of his hometown Bangalore.
The best pictures will be on view at the Natural History Museum from this Friday (October 15) until June 2022. After that, they will also be issued in other countries, including Germany. dpa
