An underwater action shot of a trio of camouflage groupers spawning in French Polynesia has been crowned the overall winner at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards.
The shot, Creation, by French underwater photographer and biologist Laurent Ballesta, shows the fish exiting a milky cloud of eggs and sperm. It took him five years of observing their spawning habits to capture.
Other winning images this year include Zack Clothier's close-up of a grizzly bear staring straight down the lens, which he captured by setting up a camera trap in front of an elk carcass.
Majed Al's frontal shot of a mountain gorilla in the rain came out top in the Animal Portraits section. Polar bears, chimpanzees, harp seals and elephants also feature, in an exhibition which raises awareness of environmental issues as well as shining the spotlight on fantastic photography.
Arachnophobes, look away now — The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year title goes to 10 year old Vidyun R Hebbar from India, who captured this psychedelic shot of a tent spider.
All of this year's winning photographs, as well as several other shortlisted images, are on display at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at Natural History Museum. It's one of our favourite recurring exhibitions in London, regularly winning 5* reviews from our art critic, and this year the competition received 50,000 entries from 95 countries.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 is at Natural History Museum, 15 October 2021-5 June 2022. Book tickets in advance.
