Exhibition: 2nd February – 2nd June 2019
Fort Bard. Aosta Valley
#WPY54
Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten has won the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 title for his extraordinary image, The Golden Couple, which frames a pair of golden snub-nosed monkeys in the temperate forest of China’s Qinling Mountains, the only habitat for these endangered primates. The winning portrait captures the beauty and fragility of life on earth, and a glimpse of some of the extraordinary, yet relatable beings we share our planet with.
Chair of the judging panel, Roz Kidman Cox, says, ‘This image is in one sense traditional – a portrait. But what a striking one, and what magical animals. It is a symbolic reminder of the beauty of nature and how impoverished we are becoming as nature is diminished. It is an artwork worthy of hanging in any gallery in the world.
Sixteen-year-old Skye Meaker took the award for Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 with his charming portrait of a leopard waking from sleep in Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. Skye has wanted to be a nature photographer since receiving his first pocket camera at the age of seven.
The two images were selected from 19 category winners, depicting the incredible diversity of life on our planet, from displays of rarely seen animal behaviour to hidden underwater worlds. Images from professional and amateur photographers are selected by a panel of industry-recognised professionals for their originality, creativity and technical excellence.
Beating over 45,000 entries from 95 countries,Marsel and Skye’s images will be on show in stunning lightbox displays with 98 other spectacular photographs. The exhibition at the Natural History Museum opens on 19 October 2018 before touring across the UK and internationally to locations such as Canada, Spain, the USA, Australia and Germany.
