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The awe-inspiring winners of a prestigious nature photo contest, from a shot of a

admin — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 05:03:34 +0000

Dramatic cloud formations over a Chilean mountainscape, a crocodile devouring a wildebeest and a polar bear cub prancing over an ice shelf.

These are some of the scenes captured by the winners of All About Photo (AAP) magazine’s nature photography contest, a prestigious awards that celebrates photographers who ‘beautifully capture the essence of nature, highlighting the magnificence of landscapes, wildlife, and flora and fauna’.

It’s the first nature-themed contest organised by AAP, a monthly online magazine that endeavours to educate and inspire in all things photography-related by providing a platform to ‘exceptional’ work from around the world.

Twenty-five photographers from 11 countries worldwide have been presented with awards. The grand prize winner is Thomas Vijayan, an Indian wildlife photographer whose subjects include Bornean orangutans and Vietnam’s critically endangered golden-headed langur monkeys.

A statement from AAP Magazine says: ‘Nature photography is a captivating genre that explores and captures the breathtaking beauty of the natural world.’ It adds that this style of photography ‘not only celebrates the earth’s majesty but also serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of conservation and our responsibility to protect our planet for future generations’.

Scroll down to see MailOnline Travel’s pick of the winners – with images from Vijayan’s gold-medal-winning portfolio at the very bottom…

With a tuft of its hair blowing in the wind, this young lion can be seen staring into the distance in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It was captured by Italian photographer Paolo Ameli, who bags a ‘Merit’ award

This green-hued shot shows the red-eyed tree frog in a jungle in Costa Rica’s La Fortuna region. Photographer Pablo Trilles Farrington – the recipient of a ‘Merit’ award – describes the creature as ‘hypnotic’, noting that its distinctive features are its red eyes and the blue stripe that colours its sides. He notes that though these frogs are typically nocturnal, ‘this photograph was taken during the day when the frog was looking for a better place to rest’

In this breathtaking shot, a caravan of camels moves through a storm near the town of Merzouga, which lies in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Photographer Olivier Unia, the recipient of a ‘Merit’ award, describes the scene as a ‘gift from nature’

This magnificent image shows a group of gelada monkeys – also known as the bleeding-heart monkey – in Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains. Photographer Turgay Uzer, a ‘Merit’ award-winner, says: ‘To protect themselves from leopards, they spend the night on tiny ledges on the impossibly steep cliffs of the mountains and climb back on the plateau at daybreak to graze’

This magical shot of silhouetted gelada monkeys in Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains is the work of Turgay Uzer

A young polar bear cub walks with a spring in its step in this captivating photograph by Turgay Uzer, which is titled: ‘I’ve Got Things To Do And People To See.’ It was captured in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago

Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park was the setting for this mesmerising shot, which shows a ‘young leopard checking on its hoisted kill’ – which means the kill was tugged onto a tree to keep it out of reach of other carnivores. It’s the handiwork of Turgay Uzer

A lion in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park is the subject of this beautifully composed picture by ‘Merit’ award-winner Turgay Uzer

This transfixing shot of a night monkey in Panama’s Parque Nacional Soberania was captured by Turgay Uzer. Describing the creature, he says: ‘It weighs less than one kilogram, has some of the biggest eyes in nature and those long pianists’ fingers!’ Uzer adds: ‘Sadly, the [night monkey] is endangered in Panama because of deforestation, capture for the pet trade and poaching’

Turgay Uzer captured this stunning shot of an elephant feeding on the leaves of acacia trees in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park

Though it looks like they’re enemies, the jaguars in this powerful shot are actually mating, photographer Turgay Uzer reveals. He explains: ‘Big cat mating starts with courting, continues with purring and ends with snarls and violence. And can go on like that for days.’ The picture was captured in Brazil’s Parque Estadual Encontro das Aguas

A crocodile feasts on an unfortunate wildebeest in the Mara River in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve in this jarring shot by Turgay Uzer, titled ‘Dinner Time’

This picture of a leopard cub feeding on an impala kill in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park is the work of Turgay Uzer. He says: ‘We could have been the first humans this cub had seen. The mother left after dragging a heavy impala kill into the thicket. It was aware of us and yet kept on feeding’

U.S photographer Jo Fields captured this striking shot of a non-venomous rat snake on a branch. ‘Many people walking by shuddered with fear and kept walking by,’ Fields says, adding that the snake had just come out of hibernation. Fields snaps up a ‘Merit’ award

This stunning shot shows lenticular clouds over Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s Patagonia region. Photographer Carmen Villar, who gets a ‘Merit’ award, remarks: ‘Before the sun came up, the colour of the clouds was simply impressive’

This image was captured by overall winner Thomas Vijayan. It shows an inquisitive-looking golden-headed langur, a critically endangered species of monkey endemic to Vietnam’s Cat Ba Island. There are less than 70 golden-headed langurs remaining, the photographer reveals, adding that the species was almost extinct two decades ago, due to poaching for medicine and hunting for sport. Their average body length is 20 inches (50cm) and then their tails extend another three feet (one metre), he says

Behold another spectacular shot captured by overall winner Vijayan, this time showing an orangutan in Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo

Find Florida’s refined side: Nature reserves, quiet beaches, courteous locals – Fort

admin — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 22:39:15 +0000

The anhinga devil bird is perched on a branch, wings outstretched to dry in the afternoon sun.

Its silhouette resembles Batman crossed with a piano, thanks to alternating black-and-white wing feathers. A fish has just slipped down its serpentine gullet and, below it, lurking in the shade of a mangrove swamp, a 12ft alligator nurtures an egg.

‘I shot the ’gator yesterday afternoon,’ says Bill, a local wildlife photographer. ‘Right where you are standing.’

I am in the boondocks of the Gulf Coast of south-west Florida, on a boardwalk leading to a bird hide on the J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge. This is a million miles away from theme-park Florida and the busy beaches of Miami.

This part of the Sunshine State has been made accessible by Virgin Atlantic’s daily flights into Tampa, which is only an hour away by road.

Beach life: Mark Porter explores Fort Myers and Sanibel Island (pictured) in south-west Florida

Mark spies signs warning him to ‘Beware of Alligators’ in the J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge (above)

The gangplanks here are lined with educational poo boxes containing fecal recognition panels, so you know what you are stepping in.

A plaque next to the ‘Beware of Alligators’ sign announces that they were kindly donated by Jim and Patty Sprankle and a local duck decoy manufacturer.

There is a certain relish to the conversational tone of my new acquaintances. Pythons and very large lizards are also commonplace here.

‘I ran over a python last week on the road to the Everglades,’ says a man with a long lens. ‘Had no choice. She was spread the width of the road — at least 30ft long. She looked startled and whooshed off into the bush.’

Somewhat less assured, I set off to complete my seven-mile cycle tour of the reserve. There are several ’gator warning signs along the way. I change the setting on my electric bike from cruise to sprint and decide to give the kayaking I’d booked earlier a wide berth.

I’m near the city of Fort Myers, and it’s a miracle there is anything to stand on as it’s less than a year since Hurricane Ian — the fifth strongest to hit America — took Florida by surprise, killing 150 people and causing £91 billion in damage.

I have turned right onto the highway that leads from Sanibel Island up to Captiva Island, where I am staying on a narrow isthmus of sand and lush vegetation. It was here that the hurricane made landfall on September 28, 2022.

‘The noise was the most remarkable thing. Like being inside a giant kettle drum,’ says Molly Malone from the seafood stall at the Sanibel Island Farmers Market.

A bird’s eye view of the bridge that connects Captiva Island, where Mark is staying, with Sanibel Island

Mark reveals that Fort Myers has a population of 90,000. Above are the city’s colourful houses

‘This part of the Sunshine State has been made accessible by Virgin Atlantic’s daily flights into Tampa,’ says Mark

It uprooted houses and trees, hurling them across the isthmus from the Gulf of Mexico into Pine Island Sound, in a random spasm of destruction which, inexplicably, left some properties unscathed.

Some bits of the islands still look battered, but in most areas the sub-tropical foliage has grown back to cover the briefly denuded landscape.

On Captiva, the ’Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa where I am staying is open for business as usual, with nearly everything restored.

The two islands are connected by causeways and bridges to Fort Myers, the county seat of Lee County, and boast some of the best beaches and climate in the world. Most of the time! It’s also home to some of the deepest pockets in America, so it’s little wonder that many of the colonnaded mansions have already been repaired.

I pootle around in a hotel kayak on Pine Island Sound, after being assured there was nothing more dangerous here than manatees. These creatures, known locally as sea cows, resemble walruses, and are only lethal if you let them sit on you.

Then I cycle up the beach road to the Mucky Duck for a sundowner and supper.

People here wave cheerily, especially when they’ve got your credit card. This is the land of Mr Cheerful, and I am reminded of that great film, The Truman Show, in which the protagonist finds that his whole life is in fact a fake, and that he is unwittingly the star of a TV reality show.

Above are oysters at Izzy’s Fish & Oyster bar in Fort Myers, where Mark stops for a pre-supper snack and a glass of Chablis

Mark sees an anhinga bird (pictured left, file photo) perched on a branch with its ‘wings outstretched to dry in the afternoon sun’ during his trip to the region. To the right is the Fort Myers city clock. Mark notes that the city was put on the map by, among others, Henry Ford and inventor Thomas Edison, who had neighbouring summer homes there

I make a stop at The Mucky Duck ‘English pub’ located on the beach.

Next to my table, an elderly man in a stripey T-shirt is sitting on the sand in a white plastic rocking chair, a ‘dark and stormy’ rum cocktail in one hand and his smartphone in the other.

The sun slips into the sea and my splendid new friend puts his arm around a scantily clad Mexican woman who is necking Moet from the bottle. It is clearly time for me to retire for a nightcap back at ’Tween Waters.

Fort Myers has a population of about 90,000. It was put on the map by, among others, those leading lights of the American industrial revolution, Henry Ford and inventor Thomas Edison. These two great friends had neighbouring summer homes that have been turned into a single museum.

I check into the stylish and luxurious Luminary Hotel on the quayside, and take one of its electric bikes out to explore.

This is cigar country, so I go into The Cigar Bar, a crepuscular place oozing high-class nicotine and with a walk-in humidor that is enough to make the most militant anti-smoker pause for pleasure.

Mark checks into the stylish and luxurious Luminary Hotel (above)on Fort Myers’ quayside

Kendyl, the 27-year-old bartender, says the hurricane has made insuring homes too expensive for many locals: ‘So they’re being snapped up by wealthy outsiders. But soon it will be like Atlantis if this climate change continues.’

Televised hockey flickers on the screen through the haze of Montecristo and Davidov, so I slip out and cycle round to Izzy’s Fish & Oyster bar, down the grandly porticoed high street, for some pre-supper bivalves and a glass of Chablis.

Then on to The Veranda restaurant. Here, a car valet takes my bike away and a man in a bow tie shows me to the table where Ben and Barry, whom I met on Captiva Island, await for a last-night blow out. This is the posh South, straight from the film set of Gone With The Wind. Lacquered teak and ceiling fans, fresh seafood and old money.

A more refined taste of Florida. No Mickey Mouse in sight.