British Wildlife Photographer 2026: Die besten Aufnahmen - [GEO]

Zur Galerie British Wildlife Photographer 2026: Die besten Aufnahmen

Overall Winner - YOUNG BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Feathery Pillow Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 and 15-17 Years Winner Ben Lucas Mute swan (Cygnus olor) Hornchurch, England This was such an adorable moment to witness. A whole family of mute swans swam up to me as I was quietly sitting on the bank of a beautiful lake. They all lay down for a rest right beside me. The five newly hatched cygnets curled up together in a fluffy grey bundle and I captured this photo as one lay its little head on the back of its sibling. Nature can often be so cruel, but tender moments like this warm my heart! — Hornchurch, England

Was für ein besonderer Moment muss das für Ben Lucas gewesen sein: Gerade saß der Nachwuchsfotograf gemütlich am See, da kam eine ganze Schwanenfamilie auf ihn zu – und legte sich direkt neben ihm zur Ruhe. So konnte er die fünf Jungtiere aus nächster Nähe fotografieren. Dafür gibt es den Hauptpreis in der Kategorie der 15- bis 17-Jährigen. "Natur kann oft grausam sein", sagt Lucas. "Aber zarte Momente wie dieser wärmen mir das Herz!"

© Ben Lucas / British Wildlife Photographer 2026

Habitat Dipper Dream Habitat | Winner Marc Humphrey Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) Derbyshire Dales, England Dippers are creatures of habit, and after spending numerous days observing these entertaining birds I was able to discover many of their favoured rocks. I wanted to capture something different, encapsulating the stunning woodland and rushing white water that these birds are so at home in. For this photo I utilised a wide-angle lens, and so as to limit disturbance, I waded into the water, framed up my shot using a tripod, manually focussed on the rock and used a remote shutter whilst sat on the riverbank. To capture the painterly effect in the water, I used a shutter speed of 1/15s.

11 and Under Cutting Edge 11 and Under | Winner Jamie Smart Leaf-cutter bee (Megachilidae) Powys, Wales I adore bees and have spent a lot of time this year studying them and finding out about what I can do to help the wild bees around our garden thrive. I designed and made a bee hotel using clay and have watched it flourish. One day, as I was walking past it, I spotted this leaf-cutter bee poking her head out of one of the clay holes and thought it would make a lovely photo, so I ran back inside to grab my camera and hoped that she would still be there when I returned – luckily, she was! Using my macro set up – the OM1 Mark II with a speed flash and Cygnustech diffuser – I managed to capture this image of her looking at me from inside the clay hole. It was quite tricky to get the light to penetrate into the hole, as she had gone a little deeper inside by the time I had returned and I didn’t want to disturb her too much by going too close, so I cropped in and adjusted the highlights and shadows in the editing phase to create this image.

Urban Wildlife Night Dweller Urban Wildlife | Runner-up Kyle Moore Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) Lowestoft, England While working on a project photographing foxes in the urban environment, I was drawn to this particular security hut because of the neon lighting. The fox was used to receiving handouts from the night security workers and would frequently come up to the windows, waiting for an easy meal. I set up my camera and used a wireless remote so as not to disturb the fox. A subtle flashgun was used to illuminate the ghostly shape as the fox approached some litter left by the main door.

Animal Behaviour The Fur Flew Animal Behaviour | Runner-up Sarah Darnell Brown hare (Lepus europaeus) Bintree, Norfolk, England It was an exciting start to my early morning when I was able to witness the agility and effort of a pair of hares boxing. They were so close that I could hear the puffs and pants as they performed in front of me. As the activity became more intense, fur was lost, and I loved how it stayed on top of the hare’s head throughout this frenetic time. So intent were they to win the battle of wills they ignored my presence lying on the ground in plain sight.

Overall Winner - British Wildlife Photographer of the Year – Black & White A Toad Swims Across Its Woodland Pond British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 and Black & White Winner Paul Hobson Toad (Bufo bufo) Sheffield, England I am lucky to have a pond close to my house that has relatively clear water, especially in late winter and early spring before the algae starts to grow. Toads use this pond to breed in and I decided I wanted to try to capture an image looking up from the bottom of the pond. To try to do this I built a glass box to house the camera and keep it dry. I had to add ballast to make sure it would sink and used old tripod legs glued to its sides to keep the box level. I worked out the depth the box would be and set the focus so that it would capture a toad, if one swam across the surface. I triggered the camera using an adapted long cable release. I had to wait quite a long time until a toad swam across the surface – most of them would usually swim below it and rest on the glass.

Animal Portraits Standing Tall Animal Portraits | Winner Alastair Marsh Pine marten (Martes martes) Ardnamurchan, Scotland I’ve been visiting Ardnamurchan in Scotland for 10 years now and it keeps me coming back. I visit every year in the hope of seeing pine martens. In the summer of 2024 I had one of my best visits up north with plenty of sightings, tempted by a small amount of peanuts I left out each evening. Every so often this young male would stand up to get a better view above the heather in front of him.

Overall Winner - YOUNG BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Feathery Pillow Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 and 15-17 Years Winner Ben Lucas Mute swan (Cygnus olor) Hornchurch, England This was such an adorable moment to witness. A whole family of mute swans swam up to me as I was quietly sitting on the bank of a beautiful lake. They all lay down for a rest right beside me. The five newly hatched cygnets curled up together in a fluffy grey bundle and I captured this photo as one lay its little head on the back of its sibling. Nature can often be so cruel, but tender moments like this warm my heart!

Botanical Britain Slime Moulds and a Water Droplet Botanical Britain | Winner Barry Webb Slime mould (Lamproderma scintillans) South Buckinghamshire, England These 1mm-tall Lamproderma scintillans were found on a tiny fragment of wood, on a very wet woodchip pile. When the water droplet evaporated on the two fruiting bodies on the right, they dried out and reverted to their original blue colour. It is thought that the iridescent surface of these fruiting bodies may act as a water repellent in order to protect the spores within the sporocarp. A total of 87 shots were focus bracketed and then focus stacked to create the final image.

Animal Behaviour Nemesis Animal Behaviour | Winner Mark Parker Sparrowhawk and juvenile starling (Accipiter nisus and Sturnus vulgaris) Royston, Hertfordshire, England Because the sparrowhawk had never gone to ground before on previous visits to the garden and not knowing how long it would stay, I just wanted to get an image to record the event before then concentrating on my settings. The story I think the image portrays, is evident in the eye contact between the two subjects and the vice-like grip they have on each other, however, the eye contact and grip of the juvenile starling is out of pure fear whilst that of its nemesis is one of dominance and relief in finally catching a much needed meal.

Coast & Marine Glowing Bright Coast & Marine | Winner James Lynott Spiny squat lobster (Galathea strigosa) Inveraray, Loch Fyne, Scotland A spiny squat lobster captured fluorescing during a night dive in Loch Fyne, in November 2024. Image taken using two Sea&Sea YS01-Solis strobes with Nightsea excitation filters. A FireDiveGear gel barrier filter was used behind the 8mm fisheye lens.

Animal Portraits Through the Lavender Animal Portraits | Runner-up Felix Belloin Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) Richmond, England In summer 2024, I had an unexpected visit from a neighbourhood fox who decided to come by my garden. Probably attracted by the commotion around the bird feeder, she sat on the lawn and allowed me to get close. I grabbed a medium telephoto lens with a very wide aperture and took her portrait through a gap in the lavender. Later in June, after multiple visits, and considering the prevalence of mange in my area, I decided to get a mange deterrent from the National Fox Welfare Society, which I administered to her in a small portion of cat food!

Wild Woods Beams of Brightness Wild Woods | Winner Mark Richardson Bushy Park, London, England This photograph was taken at dawn on a frosty winter’s morning in South East England, just as the sunlight broke through the canopy of the woodlands. Using a telephoto lens, I framed the scene with a reasonably close crop to give a sense of energy and atmosphere to the emerging, dramatic light, and to emphasise the golden halo created around the tree in the centre of the image.

27. Februar 2021,00:15

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