Two Israeli photographers have won acclaim in the “Nature TTL Photographer of the Year'' international photography competition, being included in the top-picked photos selected from 8,000 submissions.
The two are Amos Ravid, who won second place in "The Night Sky" category with the photo “Sleeping Dragon,” and Amit Ashel, who was highly commended for his photo “Snow Monster,” which was submitted in the “Wild Portraits” category.
"Night photography at -25 degrees Celsius can be a bit challenging. And yet, it is most enjoyable and satisfying,” Ravid says of the night he took the picture.
“This photo is from Ogoy Island in Lake Baikal, Russia. It is also known as the Dragon Island, hence I call it ‘The Sleeping Dragon’," he said.
Ashel also recalls his hunt looking for the perfect picture:
“In February 2020 I was in the steppes in eastern Mongolia in search of the elusive Pallas’s Cat."
"After six full days of searching we were lucky to find this cat lurking for prey in the snowy steppe. The cat was covered in fresh snow which made him look like an unfamiliar creature – a snow monster!”
The overall winner of the competition, which is made up of eight categories celebrating the wonders of the natural world, is Indian photographer Thomas Vijayan with his photo of an orangutan titled “The World is Going Upside Down.”
“After spending a few days in Borneo, I got this frame stuck in my mind,” said Vijayan.
“To get this shot, I selected a tree that was in the water so that I could get a good reflection of the sky and its leaves on the tree. The water formed a mirror, making the image look upside-down," he said.
"Then I climbed up on the tree and waited for hours. This is a regular path for the orangutans to use, so patience would surely pay off.”