Robert M. Palmer
Littleton, Colorado
Grand Prize, Professional
While watching a group of bald eagles that had congregated at a local cattle feed lot, Palmer noticed the raptors were climbing into the air to catch starlings and blackbirds"not necessarily typical prey for the large birds. Using a 500mm lens and a 1.4x extender, Palmer photographed this dramatic midair scene of an eagle and a starling before his week-long encounter with the birds ended and the raptors left the area.
Subharghya Das
Mysore, India
First Place, Mammals, Amateur
In the fading sunlight of India’s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, this young Bengal tiger ventured down to Rajbag Lake to drink. "Here she was quenching her thirst but still watching out for the activities around her," says Das, who photographed the scene with a digital camera and a 300mm lens with a 2x extender. In the fading sunlight of India’s Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, this young Bengal tiger ventured down to Rajbag Lake to drink. "Here she was quenching her thirst but still watching out for the activities around her," says Das, who photographed the scene with a digital camera and a 300mm lens with a 2x extender.
Arthur Morris
Indian Lake Estates, Florida
First Place, Birds, Professional
While coleading a photo trip to Canada’s Bonaventure Island, home to the world’s largest gannetry, Morris found himself surrounded each day by thousands of nesting northern gannets. Each year, he says, a pair or two builds a nest atop one of the viewing shelters. "Nearly all of the Bonaventure gannets build their nests on the ground or on the cliffs," says Morris, "so it was a rare experience to photograph these birds at their shelter-top nest with a white sky background." Using a tripod-mounted 400mm lens and fill flash, he made the digital image while standing "a bit precariously" on the stairway to the shelter.
Erkki Kesa
Tallinn, Estonia
Second Place, Other Wildlife, Amateur
On the beach of the Estonian island Saaremaa, Kesa spotted an unusual sight: two common blue butterflies sharing a single stem. "A beautiful sunrise gave me a good background color to work with," says Kesa, who used a 150mm macro lens, a tripod and a flash to make this digital image.
