A three-lobed horseshoe crab moves slowly on mudflats on Pangdalan Island, Palawan, Philippines. Photographer Laurent Ballesta won the grand prize for this photo. (Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)
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French underwater photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta has been awarded Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 for his stunning photograph of a three-legged horseshoe crab off the coast of Pangadalan Island, Philippines. His film was selected from nearly 50,000 entries from around the world.
(Further: The finalists in the 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards have been announced)
Ballesta is now a two-time grand prize winner. The photographer also won the 2021 competition. For a photo of a mating camouflage group taken in French Polynesia.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is created and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. This year’s competition featured 19 categories including “Animals in their Environment”, “Underwater” and “Plants and Fungi”. The competition also includes Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards for age groups including “10 and under”, “11 to 14 years” and “15 to 17 years”.
Director of Natural History Museum Dr. Doug Gurr explained in a press release, “While inspiring absolute awe and wonder, this year’s winning films offer compelling evidence of our impact on nature – positive and negative. Global commitments must change. Action must be taken to reverse nature’s decline.”
Winning images will be exhibited at the Natural History Museum in London From Friday, October 13, 2023 to Sunday, June 30, 2024.
Click through the slideshow above to see some of this year’s winners.
Senior teacher Nicole Bonacorso Works as photo editor for weather.com and writes about breaking news, travel, climate and more.
The Meteorological Institute’s primary journalistic mission is to report on weather news, the environment and the importance of science in our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
