Chinese photographer Zhu Yongkang is among the winners in the 44th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition held here.
Zhu's "Snow Swans" won the "Animals in their Environment" category in the world renowned competition held by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
Zhu, who is from Wuxi City in east China's Jiangsu Province, took his winning image at Rongcheng Swan Lake Nature Reserve in eastern China. In the fairy-tale image, the whooper swans are forced to find food in snowy fields. He captured a moment when one swan took off into the squall, followed moments later by the others.
"Everything comes together to create the perfect moment -- a swan soaring, the rest of the flock looking on, the gawky youngsters and the joyful yellow of the birds' bills against the monochrome snowscape," commented Sophie Stafford, editor of the BBC Wildlife Magazine and judge for the competition.
The competition, widely regarded as the international leader in the artistic representation of the natural world, has attracted a record 32,351 entries from 82 countries this year.
This year's overall winners -- Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year -- are American photographer Steve Winter and British teenager Catriona Parfitt.
An exhibition of the best of these visually-stunning, sometimes humorous and often thought-provoking images opened at London's Natural History Museum on Friday, with all the winning, runner-up and commended photographs from the 17 categories of the competition.
After its London debut which ends next April, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 exhibition will tour regional and international venues.
Last year, the exhibition at the Natural History Museum attracted nearly 134,000 visitors. More than 1 million others are expected to have seen the 2007 images at international and regional venues when the tour concludes.
Heather Clark Charrington, spokesperson for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, said "Over 44 years, this has grown to become the world's most prestigious wildlife photography competition. We are not only attracting record entries, but also huge audiences."
"People come to see the world's best wildlife photographs, but they also gain new insights. Many of the images will challenge viewers to think about our natural world in different ways."
Mark Carwardine, chair of the judging panel, said "The judges spend weeks in a darkened room, looking at thousands of beautiful images, but the final exhibition photographs have a creativity, originality and sheer drama that set them apart."
"The competition plays an increasingly crucial role in raising the profile of wildlife photography and generating awareness of conservation. Nothing speaks louder than an evocative photograph that stirs the imagination, tugs at the heart strings and engages the mind."
Next year's competition will start on-line from Jan. 19 until late March. The organizers wish to see more Chinese photographers enter the so-called "Oscar of the Wildlife photography."
Source:Xinhua
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