[imagesource: Sascha Fonseca]

Karine Aigner won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition when the winners were announced in October thanks to her photo titled ‘The big buzz’.

However, the competition is not over yet.

The Natural History Museum has selected 25 photos that will be voted on by the public to win the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2022.

The public’s favourite photo will be announced in February next year.

The 25 photos were narrowed down from a staggering 38 575 entries from 93 different countries, notes PetaPixel, with the shortlisted photos including an intimate nuzzle, a polar bear cub basking in a sea of flowers, and a poignant shot of the impact that COVID-19 waste has had on nature.

My vote is going to this moving image of ‘Holding on’ by Igor Altuna in Spain:

Image: Igor Altuna

Or even this take on “Covid litter” by Auke-Florian Hiemstra from the Netherlands:

Image: Auke-Florian Hiemstra

Okay, no, wait. This colourful photo of ‘The frog with the ruby eyes’ by Jaime Culebras from Spain is doing it for me:

Image: Jaime Culebras

On fourth thought, I think these dolphins playing ‘Heads or tails?’ by Jodi Frediani based in the USA is really cool:

Image: Jodi Frediani

Actually, this portrait of a characterful pregnant pygmy seahorse titled ‘A tight grip’ by Nicholas More in the UK is adorable:

Image: Nicholas More

Wait, this polar bear ‘Among the flowers’ by Martin Gregus, Canada, is just too sweet:

Image: Martin Gregus

But this ‘golden huddle’ by Minqiang Lu, China, is sweeter:

Image: Minqiang Lu

Clearly, I need to think about this a little more.

The public can vote for their favourite image on the Natural History Museum website until February 2, 2023.

[source:petapixel]