Taking photos of Africa and all the beauty it has to offer is a labour of love, and for every photo that makes a list like this there are thousands that never see the light of day.

Africa Geographic have chosen 15 finalists in their ‘Photographer of the Year’ competition, and we’ve chosen a handful of our favourites for your perusal.

Off we go then:

A honey badger at Cubitje Quap waterhole in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park ©Willem Kruger

Shining a light on the Milky Way in Spitzkoppe, Namibia ©Ben McRae

A young baboon strikes a pose in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania ©Jacques-Andre Dupont

A black eagle takes a branch to its nest in Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens, South Africa ©Ernest Porter

An underwater dancer in Protea Banks, a top dive site off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa ©Pier Mane

Greener pastures for a white rhino in a private game reserve in South Africa ©Mark Winckler

A male lion in the twilight of his reign in Kruger National Park, South Africa ©Craig Hayman

A Maasai warrior teaches his son about the stars ©Robin Stuart

Tough to pick one out of all of those entrants, although if we must that rhino photo is something pretty special.

[source:africageographic]

[mainimage:William Walldén]