The devil in sandstorm - the most beautiful nature photo of 2006

A photo that took 9 years to capture and almost erased at the last minute won the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. It is the " Devil in the sandstorm " picture of Swedish cinematographer Goran Ehlme.

Goran Ehlme tried to photograph a walrus eating oysters on the sea floor in a blind tornado, the animal's face clearly protruding from the middle of that sedimentary cloud.

He recorded this magical moment from a digital camera and erased a lot of dissatisfaction."My fingers almost hit the button to erase this note, but I suddenly noticed something special," he said.

Goran is an experienced cinematographer in natural history. It took him nearly a decade to learn the behavior of walrus and find a way to get close to the animal without being attacked. Weighing 1.5 tons, the beast will become very dangerous if it feels threatened. Its big ivory can kill polar bears.

"The picture is very interesting, the image is noticeably smashing into the eye. A simple photo shows an interesting behavior," remarked jury president Mark Carwardine.

Dilemma

The award for young photographers this year belongs to Rick Stanley, 17, from the United States. Captured during a visit to the Dominican Republic, the photo shows a desperate Hispaniolan frog being bitten by a green snake.

"I snatched this tragic scene when the frog was hanging in front of me, but my friend Rubio could not hold back and help the victim by lightly touching the snake that caused it to let go and lurking between branches ".

The frog seemed unaffected and hurriedly jumped away.

Rick calls his picture Dilemma because the situation makes him wonder whether he should steal the snake's meal or let it eat.

Flaming dance

A photo that definitely attracts many eyes this year captures Todd Gustafson's flamingos in Lake Nakuru (Kenya). The lake was covered in pink when the birds flew to find their mate.

"The male birds were taken right on the edge of the dance floor. Their arrogant standing posture showed that they were ready for the dance to impress the girls , " Todd said.

"The best thing for me is the angle of view. I don't look from the top. I'm lying on the bottom of the lake, looking straight at them, so the back of them is all pink."

Todd's image is second in the bird catalog of the Animal Behavior Award.

Quiet life and bear

Igor Shpilenok's picture of a bear peeking through a window won the prize for wildlife in urban areas. The photo was taken in Igor's small house on the Kamchatka peninsula in eastern Russia.

He heard the sound at the door."I think that the partner lives next to me. I told the door to open and invite her in," Igor said.

When no one answered, he reached out to open the door. When the door turned on something, Igor intended to utter an apology. But it was not a person, but a bear, who was able to get the door outside and was sniffing around.

"The animal looked at me with a friendly look but I closed the door anyway , " Igor said.

He grabbed the camera and took this single photo. A lemon rotten left on the window sill adds clarity to this quiet life.

Coconut crab climbing trees

You need something to open a coconut, and this animal is available. Coconut crabs can be the largest arthropods on land, with lengths from one foot to the other to 1 m. It also has very strong ones.

The photograph of photographer Jan Vermeer was taken at Aldabra in the Indian Ocean.

"The picture has a complete layout. When the crab crawls up, I see the trees on either side. I put the animal in the middle, that way you can include a story , " Jan said.

The photo won the Animal Prize in their environment.

This is one of the most prestigious contests of photographers. The competition is organized by the BBC Wildlife Magazine and London Natural History Museum. This year there were more than 18,000 photos attended from 55 countries.

MT