The winners of the Society of Biology's 2014 Photography Competition have been announced! Over 800 amateur photographers competed in the categories Photographer of the Year and Young Photographer of the Year (18 and under) for cash prizes. With the theme of “Home, Habitat and Shelter” this year, the competition pulled in some spectacular entries, ranging from a vibrant shot of a sea turtle eating a jellyfish to a fascinating look at wasps building clay pots to protect their young.
Billy Clapham, 20, took home the title of Photographer of the Year 2014 with his image of a blackbird in his back garden. Judge Tim Harris, from Nature Picture Library, says, “Billy's image of a female blackbird in a suburban garden captures a familiar subject in a bold and fresh way. Gardens provide valuable habitat for wildlife in an increasingly urbanised world, and this delightful image shows that it isn't necessary to travel to remote and inaccessible places to photograph interesting animal behaviour.”
Check out the rest of the winning and shortlisted images, below.
Above: Bisons on Grand Prismatic Spring by Lukas Gawenda
Highly commended, Photographer of the Year
The Suburban Mum by Billy Clapham
Winner, Photographer of the Year
Courage doesn't always ROAR by Nagarjun Ram
Winner, Young Photographer of the Year
Meal Time by Boris Barath
Highly commended, Young Photographer of the Year
Spectral Tarsier by Wolfgang Weinhardt
Shortlisted, Photographer of the Year
A Shelter Designed by Nature by Robert Cabagnot
Shortlisted, Photographer of the Year
A lively belly in the freshwater by Matteo Riccardo Di Nicola
Shortlisted, Photographer of the Year
Striving Succulent by Kelsey Green
Shortlisted, Photographer of the Year
Parental care in parasitoid wasps by Thomas Endlein
Runner-up, Photographer of the Year
Life and Environment by Dimple Pancholi
Shortlisted, Photographer of the Year
Spider like from another world by Krasimir Matarov
Shortlisted, Photographer of the Year
Man-made forest by Ysabel M Victoriano
Runner-up, Young Photographer of the Year
Society of Biology 2014 Photography Competition's website
via [Distractify]