See the Incredible Winning Images of the British Ecological Society Photography Competition

The Art of Flight

Overall winner: The art of flight. A panning shot of a flying Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus). An internationally near-threatened bird species. The picture has been slightly post-processed with tonal alterations, dodging and burning, saturation changes, sharpening, and noise reduction. Credit: Alwin Hardenbol / British Ecological Society

An image of a flying Dalmatian Pelican, taken by Alwin Hardenbol, has been awarded Overall Winner in the British Ecological Society’s annual photography competition, ‘Capturing Ecology.’

The winning images and an additional 16 highly commended images, taken by international ecologists and students, celebrate the diversity of ecology; capturing flora and fauna from across the planet. Subjects range from a showdown between a roadrunner and rattlesnake, flamingos feasting at sunset and a close-up of a friendly humphead wrasse.

On her winning image, Alwin, a PhD candidate at the University of Eastern Finland, said: “I gave this image the title The art of flight because of how impressive this bird’s wings appear in the picture, you can almost see the bird flying in front of you despite it being a still image.

“I used a technique called panning which involves using a slow shutter speed and moving the camera along with the bird as it flies. In a perfect scenario, the background and most of the bird will show blurred movement but the head should be sharp. I took thousands of pictures and while most failed, I was very happy with this shot.

“Winning such a competition as an ecologist provides me with the opportunity to continue combining my research with my passion for nature photography.”

Professor Jane Memmott, President of the British Ecological Society, commented: “The photograph captures the movement, grace, and beauty of the bird perfectly. Pelicans were one of my favourite birds to watch on trips to the ocean when I worked in Costa Rica as a PhD student and this image reminds me of those days. A challenging photograph to take and a deserving winner.

“As always, the standard of the photography is impressive, and it was a fun job to look through them all. I congratulate all winners and thank all the participants for their submissions.”

Alwin also won the ‘People and Nature’ category with an image of a black-legged kittiwake, an internationally vulnerable species, nesting on a decrepit building in Varanger, Norway.

Waterfall Swift

Overall student winner: Waterfall Swift. Like most of Swift’s species, the Great Dusky Swift (Cypseloides senex) can be found perching in vertical cliffs. But, this particular species takes its habitat to the extreme and, being known in Latin America literally as “Waterfall swift,” Great dusky Swifts are found in the steeps rocky walls of up to 80 meters high around the Iguazú falls, frequently flying through the waterfalls offering a unique show. Credit: Pablo Javier Merlo / British Ecological Society

The overall student winner is Pablo Javier Merlo, who is studying Biology at the Nacional University of Córdoba, Argentina. Pablo’s image captures a Great Dusky Swift perched on the steep rocky walls of the Iguazú falls in Argentina. These birds, known as ‘waterfall swifts’ in Latin America, can be found flying among the 80-meter-high (260-feet-high) waterfalls.

Pablo said: “The Iguazú National Park has remarkable importance since it protects a very diverse natural ecosystem, and the waterfall swift is an important icon of Iguazú and its diversity.

“I am very grateful to be selected as one of the winners and feel motivated to continue learning about photography, which is an excellent tool to show our planet’s wildlife and how it relates to its environment.”

The independent judging panel included six highly respected photographers including eminent ecologists and award-winning wildlife photographers.

Among them was Gabriela Staebler, who has a wildlife photography career spanning 30 years. She said: “The standout images show not only great photographic skills, but love and emotion for wildlife. With their impact on people they will contribute to the preservation of nature. Congratulation to the photographers!”

Full list of winners:

Overall winner: Alwin Hardenbol, University of Eastern Finland (Image at top of page.)
The art of flight: A panning shot of a flying Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus). An internationally near-threatened bird species.

Hatching by Pichaya Lertvilai

Hatching by Pichaya Lertvilai. The paralarvae of California two-spot octopus, Octopus bimaculatus, hatching from their egg sacs. The egg yolks attached to their mouths will sustain them for a short period before they have to start hunting to survive.

Overall runner-up: Pichaya Lertvilai, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
Hatching: Paralarvae of Octopus bimaculatus emerging from their egg sacs. The emerging paralarvae still carried their yolks with them for the first few days of their new journey.

Ant Tale by Upamanyu Chakraborty

Ant Tale by Upamanyu Chakraborty. Weaver ants social behavior taken in a backlit situation. The colony of Weaver ants is a great example of social behavior among the animal kingdom. They are also called the ‘ecosystem engineers’ for their roles in maintaining ecosystem.

Overall runner-up: Upamanyu Chakraborty, no affiliation
Ant tale: Weaver ants are social animals. This photograph is a close-up of a weaver ant colony where the ants are carrying their immature members to a safer place.

Overall student winner: Pablo Javier Merlo, Nacional University of Córdoba, Argentina (Image above, second from top of page.)
Waterfall Swift: Cypseloides senex is a species of swift known in Latin America literally as “Waterfall swift.” It can be found on the steep rocky walls (up to 80 meters high) of the Iguazú Falls, flying frequently near and through these waterfalls offering a unique show.

Category 1 – Up Close and Personal
An image displaying the intricacy of nature using close-up or macro photography.

Breath. Adapt. Relax. by Michal Smielak

Breath. Adapt. Relax. by Michal Smielak

Winner: Michal Smielak, University of New England, Australia
Breath. Adapt. Relax.: Bearded leaf chameleon (Rieppeleon brevicaudatus), with its rather underwhelming “beard” consisting of just a few raised scales. The species is endemic to Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and Kenya. This one was spotted during a night walk in the Udzungwas.

Look Into My Eye by Lauren Henly

Look Into My Eye by Lauren Henly. At the end of a dive on the Great Barrier Reef I was lucky enough to have a friendly humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulates) swim up close to my camera and ‘pose’ for some photos. I was able to show off the intricate maze-like patterns of lines that cover its face.

Student winner: Lauren Henly, University of Exeter
Look into my eye: This humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) swam up to me at the end of a dive on the Great Barrier Reef and looked directly into my eye.

Category 2 – Dynamic Ecosystems
Demonstrating interactions between different species within an ecosystem.

Dances With Rattlers by Peter Hudson

Dances With Rattlers by Peter Hudson. Roadrunners will kill and eat rattlesnakes but must avoid being struck, so they perform this amazing dance, always moving and keeping beyond striking distance with their wings out and body feathers. This snake survived and moved on – too big and too risky I guess but great to watch.

Winner: Peter Hudson, Penn State University
The Roadrunner’s rattler dance: A roadrunner dances around a western diamond back rattlesnake, keeping its wings out and feathers exposed with its body hidden, so minimizing death if the snake were to strike.

Into the Lion's Den by Sam England

Into the Lion’s Den by Sam England

Student winner: Sam J England, University of Bristol
Into the Lion’s Den: A jumping spider (family Salticidae) sits at the edge of its den, constructed on the underside of a fallen leaf in the rainforests of Costa Rica, as it triumphantly feasts upon its unfortunate insect prey.

Category 3 – Individuals and Populations
A unique look at a species in its environment, either alone or as part of a population.

Last Meal of the Day by David Lopez Idiaquez

Last Meal of the Day by David Lopez Idiaquez

Winner: David López-Idiáquez, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE-CNRS) and the University of the Basque Country
Last meal of the day: At the saltworks of Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone in the vicinities of Montpellier (France), a group of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) feed just before the end of the day.

I See You by Elena Racevska

I See You by Elena Racevska. From the dusty roads of Sainte Luce to the busy streets of Antananarivo, the nightjars evaded me for months. My luck changed on a sunny day in Berenty Reserve, when I finally spotted my quarry. Perfectly camouflaged, perfectly still. Already watching me, long before I even took the shot.

Student winner: Elena Racevska, Oxford Brookes University
I see you: A Madagascan nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis), having a daytime rest.

Category 4 – People and Nature
An interesting and original take on the relationships between people and nature.

Housing for the Threatened by Alwin Hardenbol

Housing for the Threatened by Alwin Hardenbol. A picture of a Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) nesting on an abandoned, decrepit building in Varanger, Norway.

Winner: Alwin Hardenbol, University of Eastern Finland
Housing for the threatened, In Varanger, Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) often like to nest on decrepit buildings. It’s a quite fascinating behavior for this internationally vulnerable bird species.

This Is Our Playground by Elena Racevska

This Is Our Playground by Elena Racevska

Student winner: Elena Racevska, Oxford Brookes University
This is our playground, As the day turned to night, mesmerized tourists gathered to witness the baobabs’ grandeur amidst a deep-colored sunset. The trees stood silent and tall, as they have for centuries. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, two children appeared. Tumbling through this theatre of shadow and fading light. Claiming their playground.

Category 5 – Ecology in Action
Showcasing the practice of ecology in action.

Wolf Fascination by Peter Hudson

Wolf Fascination by Peter Hudson

Winner: Peter Hudson, Penn State University
Wolf Fascination: My grad student Ellen being watched by fascinated visitors to Yellowstone as she examines one of her study animals, a wolf killed in a fight for dominance. This female was exiled from the Junction Butte pack after she had killed the pups of the alpha female, her own sister.

Constant Flow by James Orr

Constant Flow by James Orr

Student winner: James Orr, Trinity College Dublin
Constant Flow: This photograph is a panorama made up of multiple long-exposure photographs of the Milky Way above an experimental stream system made up of 128 mesocosms. As part of my PhD, I helped to run a multiple-stressor experiment testing the individual and combined effects of different climate-change stressors on freshwater food webs. Each of the 128 mesocosms, or medium worlds, had a diverse ecosystem from bacteria to fish. Pumps constantly pushed water from the nearby river up to eight main water tanks and then down through our mesocosms for five weeks straight, day and night.

Category 6 – The Art of Ecology
A creative and original take on photography denoting ecology.

Mouth by Roberto Garcia Roa

Mouth by Roberto Garcia Roa

Winner: Roberto García Roa, University of Valencia
Mouth: A Cope’s Vine Snake (Oxybelis brevirostris) shows a conserved behavior of some reptiles across the Squamata phylogeny. Despite being harmless, they don’t have venom, these snakes open their mouths to scare predators when are discovered. Although they don’t use to attack, they move quickly with the mouth open offering a scenario that many animals finally decide to abandon.

Common Nettle Foe or Friend by Sanne Govaert

Common Nettle Foe or Friend by Sanne Govaert

Student winner: Sanne Govaert, Ghent University
Common nettle: Urtica dioica is a species often considered weeds. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The Subtle by Khristian Valencia

The Subtle by Khristian Valencia

Diving With a Pink Jellyfish by Boris Horvat

Diving With a Pink Jellyfish by Boris Horvat

Filthy Foraging by Nilanjan Chatterjee

Filthy Foraging by Nilanjan Chatterjee

Delightful by Draco Sebastien Hoefer

Delightful by Draco Sebastien Hoefer

A World of Microbes by Jessica Dittmer

A World of Microbes by Jessica Dittmer

Deceiving by Gharial Sebastien Hoefer

Deceiving by Gharial Sebastien Hoefer

Hunter by Roberto Garcia Roa

Hunter by Roberto Garcia Roa

Fight Club by Alwin Hardenbol

Fight Club by Alwin Hardenbol

Invasion by Roberto Garcia Roa

Invasion by Roberto Garcia Roa

Nactus Cheverti Style by Juan Pedro Valbuena

Nactus Cheverti Style by Juan Pedro Valbuena

Mimicry by Gabor Pozsgai

Mimicry by Gabor Pozsgai

Road Risk by Peter Hudson

Road Risk by Peter Hudson

Small But Mighty by John Benjamin Owens

Small But Mighty by John Benjamin Owens

Take No Prisoners by Michal Smielak

Take No Prisoners by Michal Smielak

The Neighbor by Khristian Valencia

The Neighbor by Khristian Valencia

That Sinking Feeling by Ute Bradter

That Sinking Feeling by Ute Bradter

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