NATURE SHOWING OFF

These winning images from the BigPicture Photography Competition are awe-inspiring

- SANDY COOK

WHAT on Earth have you photographed?

This is the question posed to photographers by the people at the California Academy of Science who run the renowned BigPicture Photography Competition – and the challenge resulted in jaw-dropping images.

This year’s crop of award-winning shots shows nature’s endless capacity to amaze, intrigue, surprise and delight, showcasing the rich diversity of life on Earth and galvanising action to protect and conserve it.

Good nature photography makes you wish you were there.

That’s one of the mantras of the contest and these striking images will make you feel just that.

BEE BALLING

Karine Aigner, United States

Grand Prize winner

Pick me, pick me! This rare sighting in South Texas of a swarm of cactus bees descending on a female in an effort to become her mate is more bar brawl than polite mating ritual. The amorous males tussle for the chance to copulate and after 20 or so frenzied seconds the female flies off, one victorious male clinging to her back. Aigner won $5 000 (R80 000) for her winning picture.

FACE TO FACE

Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar, Mexico

Human/Nature finalist

Predator meets prey as an endangered jaguar faces off with a domestic pig in the Río Secreto Nature Reserve. Mexican wildlife has edged closer to human settlements because of deforestation and habitat destruction, a fact that usually spells disaster for these creatures.

FRAME WITHIN A FRAME