‘An otherworldly beauty’: Wildlife Photographer of the Year crowns the best animal images of 2021
A shot of a rare underwater spawning that only takes place around a full moon once a year has been named as the winner of this year’s Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition.
Judges said French underwater photographer and biologist Laurent Ballesta’s image, entitled Creation, has an “otherworldly beauty” and reveals a “fleeting moment of fascinating animal behaviour” that very few people have ever seen.
It has been selected as the winner of the Natural History Museum’s prestigious annual competition, now in its 57th year, from more than 50,000 entries from 95 countries.
Creation by Laurent Ballesta – Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2021 winner
Ballesta’s photograph captures camouflage groupers darting away from a milky cloud of eggs and sperm in Fakarava, French Polynesia. It was the result of returning to the lagoon every year for five years, diving day and night so as not to miss the annual spawning.
Writer and editor Rosamund Kidman Cox, chair of the judging panel, described the image as “surprising, energetic and intriguing” with “an otherworldly beauty”.
She added: “It also captures a magical moment – a truly explosive creation of life – leaving the tail-end of the exodus of eggs hanging for a moment like a symbolic question mark.”
Camouflage groupers are a vulnerable species threatened by overfishing, but in this area they are protected within a special biosphere reserve.
Natural History Museum director Dr Doug Gurr described Ballesta’s image as a “compelling reminder of what we stand to lose if we do not address humanity’s impact on our planet”, and said that “the protection provided to this endangered species by the biosphere reserve highlights the positive difference we can make”.
Dome Home, by Vidyun R Hebba – Young Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2021 winner
Elsewhere, 10-year old Vidyun R Hebbar was awarded the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 award for Dome Home, a colourful image of a tent spider pictured near his home in the city of Bengaluru, in India, as a tuk-tuk passes by in the background.
Dr Natalie Cooper, a Natural History Museum researcher, said it was “a great reminder to look more closely at the small animals we live with every day, and to take your camera with you everywhere”.
The two overall winners were selected from 19 category winners, showcasing everything from stunning animal portraits to interesting behaviour, as well as photojournalism images and portfolios. Here are the 17 other category winners.
Grizzly Leftovers by Zack Clothier – Animals In Their Environment winner
US photographer Zack Clothier decided the remains of a bull elk in Montana provided the perfect spot to set up a camera trap to capture any interested animals passing by. But melted snow and fallen trees meant a challenging journey back to the scene, and when the photographer did return his set-up had been ruined. However, this surprising shot of a grizzly bear turned out to be his last frame.
Reflection by Majed Ali – Animal Portrait winner, and Bedazzled by Alex Mustard – Natural Artistry winner
Majed Ali, from Kuwait, trekked for hours to find Kibande, an almost-40-year-old mountain gorilla, but it was worth it to get this snap of the ape closing its eyes in the rain, seemingly enjoying the shower. Mountain gorillas are found at altitudes of over 1,400 metres in two isolated populations – at the Virunga volcanoes in Rwanda and in Bwindi, Uganda – and are endangered due to habitat loss, disease, poaching and disruption caused by human activity.
UK photographer Alex Mustard’s image is of a juvenile ghost pipefish hiding among the arms of a feather star – its loud colours signify that it had not long landed on the reef; its colour pattern would later have changed, enabling it to blend in.
Spinning The Cradle by Gil Wizen – Behaviour: Invertebrates winner
Gil Wizen (Israel/ Canada) discovered this fishing spider under some loose bark in a forest near his home in southern Ontario, and managed to capture it stretching out silk to weave into its egg sac. “The action of the spinnerets reminded me of the movement of human fingers when weaving,” Wizen said.
The Intimate Touch by Shane Kalyn – Behaviour: Birds winner
This picture by Canadian photographer Shane Kalyn shows a raven courtship display captured in midwinter, the start of their breeding season. Lying on the frozen ground, he watched as the couple exchanged gifts – moss, twigs and small stones – and preened and serenaded each other before coming together for the perfect picture.
Head To Head by Stefano Unterthiner – Behaviour: Animals winner
Stefano Unterthiner, from Italy, followed these Svalbard reindeer during rutting season and caught these two battling for control of a harem, clashing antlers until the dominant male chased his rival away. Reindeer populations in the Arctic are affected by climate change, as increased rainfall can freeze on the ground and prevent access to plants that would otherwise sit under soft snow.
Where The Giant Newts Breed by Joao Rodrigues – Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles winner
Joao Rodrigues, from Portugal, came across a pair of courting sharp-ribbed salamanders in a flooded forest – his first chance in five years to dive into the lake, which only emerges in winters of exceptionally heavy rainfall. He said he had a split second to adjust his camera settings and capture the moment before the newts swam away.
Nursery Meltdown by Jennifer Hayes – Oceans: The Bigger Picture winner
Following a storm, it took hours of searching by helicopter for US photographer Jennifer Hayes to find this fractured sea ice used as a birthing platform by harp seals. “It was a pulse of life that took your breath away,” she said of her image. Every autumn, harp seals migrate south from the Arctic to their breeding grounds, delaying births until the sea ice forms. But they depend on the ice – which means that future population numbers are likely to be affected by climate change.
Rich Reflections by Justin Gilligan – Plants And Fungi winner
Justin Gilligan, from Australia, created the reflection of a marine ranger among the seaweed for this striking photograph, taken at the world’s southernmost tropical reef. He said he wanted to show how careful human management helps preserve a vibrant seaweed jungle – and had just 40 minutes in which tide conditions were right to get his image.
The Spider Room by Gil Wizen – Urban Wildlife winner
A second winning spider shot for Wizen, who found this venomous Brazilian wandering spider hiding under his bed after noticing tiny spiders all over the room. Yikes. Rather than run away, he grabbed his camera to capture what is one of the world’s most venomous spiders, which is the size of a human hand.
Road To Ruin by Javier Lafuente – Wetlands: The Bigger Picture winner
Using a drone, Javier Lafuente, from Spain, captures the stark line of a road slicing through a wetland landscape, which is home to more than a hundred species of birds.
Elephant In The Room by Adam Oswell – Photojournalism winner
Adam Oswell, from Australia, said he was disturbed by this scene of zoo visitors watching a young elephant perform under water. Elephant tourism has increased across Asia and in Thailand there are now said to be more elephants in captivity than in the wild.
The Healing Touch by Brent Stirton – Photojournalist Story winner
Brent Stirton, from South Africa, profiled a rehabilitation centre caring for chimpanzees orphaned by the bushmeat trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This image shows the director of the centre sitting with a newly rescued chimp she is slowly introducing to the others.
Cool Time by Martin Gregus – Rising Star Portfolio winner
This image by Martin Gregus (Canada/Slovakia) shows two female polar bears cooling off and playing in shallow waters around Hudson Bay in Canada. Captured with a drone, he said he felt the heart shape symbolises the apparent affection between the two animals and “the love we as people owe to the natural world”.
Face-Off by Angel Fitor – Portfolio Award winner
These cichlid fish might look like they’re having a kiss, but they’re actually fighting over a snail shell. Angel Fitor, from Spain, captured the pair in Lake Tanganyika, which is spread across Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Zambia in Africa. Fitor monitored the lake bed for three weeks – and while this struggle was over in seconds, it was just long enough to get a winning shot.
Sunflower Songbird by Andrés Luis Dominguez Blanco – 11-14 Years winner
Enjoying itself sitting in the sunflowers on a warm afternoon is a melodious warbler bird. Andres Luis Dominguez Blanco, from Spain, managed to shoot “the king of its territory” from his hide set up in his father’s car.
High-Flying Jay by Lasse Kurkela – 15-17 Years winner
Lasse Kurkela (Finland) watches a Siber
Lasse Kurkela, from Finland, used pieces of cheese to get Siberian jays accustomed to his remotely controlled camera and to encourage them to follow a particular flight path so he could get the exact shot he wanted – one of the birds high in the sky, tiny against the forest trees.
Entertainment
‘An enigma’ to the end: John le Carré’s son on his father – and how his legacy lives on
Writing 26 books and a memoir in his lifetime, John le Carré is widely considered to be one of the best spy novelists of all time.
His son, Simon Cornwell, told Sky News: “I think there was only one thing that was more important to him than his family and that was his writing.”
Rory Keenand and Mat Betteridge in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Pic: Johan Persson
Tom Hiddleston returns in season two of The Night Manager. Pic: BBC/Ink Factory/Des Willie
First gaining attention in 1963 with his breakout novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, cementing his reputation 10 years later with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, his work is now enjoying a resurgence.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold has been adapted for the stage for the first time, with confirmation of a TV series to follow, while another of his works, The Night Manager, premieres its second season starring Tom Hiddleston in the new year.
There are further productions waiting in the wings, plus an unfinished le Carré play with the potential to be developed.
And archives of le Carré’s work – containing over 1,200 boxes of material – have gone on display at the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford.
Writing under a pen name, le Carré, who was born David Cornwell, died in December 2020.
His elder sons, Simon and Stephen, now manage the film, TV and stage rights of his work through their studio The Ink Factory, while his youngest son, Nick, expands the George Smiley universe.
(R-L) Nick Harkaway, John Le Carré, and Simon, Stephen and Tim Cornwell. Pic: Clare Cornwell
Smiley’s continuation ‘could have gone horribly wrong’
One of le Carré’s most well-known creations, Smiley was the antidote to James Bond – bespectacled, balding and a little out of shape – and a recurring character in le Carré’s books.
Simon says Nick, who has two more Smiley books in the pipeline, was “taking on a big risk” developing the character, but insists, “he is the only person who could have done it and done it that well”.
He goes on: “He could find my father’s voice… he grew up talking every day to my dad, as we did, and he just knows at an instinctive level what’s important…
“There are so many ways in which it could have gone horribly wrong, and it went brilliantly right.”
Nick Harkaway with his first Smiley continuation novel, Karla’s Choice. Pic: AP
‘A family enterprise’
Explaining how they all work together – calling it a “family enterprise in the best of ways” – Simon explains: “A lot of authors, when they die, they leave very strict instructions to their children, their estate as to how things should be managed and lots of rules and restrictions and everything else. My dad didn’t do that.”
Le Carré’s fourth son, Tim, sadly died aged 59 in 2022, shortly after editing a collection of his father’s letters, titled A Private Spy.
Le Carré is by no means the only author whose legacy lives on via others.
Announcing a staggered retirement, Lee Child passed his hit creation Jack Reacher on to his younger brother Andrew in 2020.
PG Wodehouse’s much-loved Jeeves and Wooster stories have been rewritten this Christmas by celebrity fans including Frank Skinner and Alan Titchmarsh, half a century after his death.
Daniel Craig at the No Time To Die world premiere in 2021. Pic: Reuters
Staying part of the conversation is key
While Ian Fleming’s James Bond has been continued by 15 authors so far, and spilling into the young adult genre, capturing a whole new generation of readers.
Mark Edlitz, intellectual expert and author of The Many Lives Of James Bond, told Sky News such continuations are essential to the survival of the work.
Author Mark Edlitz has written about the Bond continuation novels
“We have seen all these detectives and spies who don’t have a movie series or a TV series to bolster their eyeballs, and then they fade from public view.
“These books and movies help keep the author’s work present and viable and part of the public conversation.”
Sarah Baxter, senior contracts advisor for The Society of Authors, says remaining relevant and visible has another big benefit too.
“That kind of partnership can go on to give a whole new lease of life to works that may have been written many, many years ago, and it can go on to generate a lot of income for a literary estate.”
Le Carré – an enigma, even to his family, to the end. Pic: AP
‘An enigma’
More than 60 million copies of Le Carré’s books have been sold worldwide, with new adaptations likely to boost those sales further.
But Simon Cornwell says the investment in his father’s work is about more than just profits.
“We became very, very close as a family because he was very keen to be a proper dad and we were working with him and his material as well, so it was particularly towards the end of his life. It was a beautiful, thrilling thing.”
A master storyteller, the moral ambiguity of the fictional world he constructed reflected back on to its creator.
Simon says: “He remained an enigma. I think in some ways he was probably an enigma to himself…
“He was an extraordinary man to be close with, but do you ever understand somebody like that? Probably not.”
His work more widespread than ever, but the man himself – still a mystery.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is at @sohoplace in London’s West End to 21 February before embarking on a UK Tour.
John le Carré: Tradecraft is at the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford until 6 April.
Entertainment
Primal Scream says video with alleged antisemitic imagery shown at gig was meant to provoke debate
Primal Scream have said a video containing alleged antisemitic imagery was a “piece of art” and was intended to “provoke debate, not hate”.
Warning: This article contains alleged antisemitic imagery.
The Scottish rock band have been reported to the Metropolitan Police for showing a film at their Roundhouse concert in Camden, London on Monday which appeared to include imagery of the Star of David entwined with a swastika.
The force is now assessing the report.
‘Film is a piece of art’
Primal Scream said in a statement on Instagram: “The film is a piece of art. It clearly draws from history to question where the actions of current world governments sit in that context. It is meant to provoke debate, not hate.
“In a free, pluralistic and liberal society freedom of expression is a right which we choose to exercise.”
Primal Scream, founded by frontman Bobby Gillespie in 1982, were playing a 25-year anniversary show for their album XTRMNTR.
As the group performed Swastika Eyes, pictures of political figures including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared behind them, showing what appeared to be the Star of David combined with a swastika in their eyes.
The video from the gig that sparked the report to police
Venue ‘appalled’
The Roundhouse has apologised, saying it was “appalled” that “antisemitic imagery was displayed”, adding it was done entirely without its knowledge.
It said in a statement: “We deeply regret that these highly offensive images were presented on our stage and unequivocally apologise to anyone who attended the gig and to the wider Jewish community.”
It added: “Our organisation absolutely condemns antisemitism in every form.”
Call for ‘urgent investigation’
The Community Security Trust (CST), which provides protection for Jewish communities in the UK, said it had reported the band to police and called on the venue to carry out an “urgent investigation”.
In a statement, a CST spokesperson said: “CST is appalled by the grossly antisemitic image displayed at Primal Scream. Entwining a Star of David with a swastika implies that Jews are Nazis and risks encouraging hatred of Jews.
“There needs to be an urgent investigation by the venue and the promoter about how this happened, and we have reported this to the police.”
What have police said?
Responding to that report, a Met Police spokesperson said: “On Wednesday, 10 December, we received a report in relation to a video shown on stage during a concert at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm Road, Camden on Monday, 8 December.
“It is being assessed by officers.”
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‘Unadulterated hatred’
The charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The Nazi swastika represents the ideology that inspired people to industrially slaughter six million innocent Jewish men, women and children by bullet, gas and any other means available.
“To visually combine that with the Star of David – the pre-eminent symbol of Judaism – is absolutely sickening and totally inexcusable.
“This isn’t art. This isn’t edgy. This isn’t political statement. It is unadulterated hatred and a clear breach of the international definition of antisemitism.
“We will be writing to the Camden Roundhouse and our legal team is examining the footage to consider further steps.”
Author Joanna Trollope has died aged 82, her family has said.
Trollope was one of the nation’s most widely read authors, having published more than 30 novels during a career that began in the 1970s.
Her novels include “Aga sagas” The Rector’s Wife, Marrying The Mistress and Daughters-in-Law.
In a statement, Trollope’s daughters Antonia and Louise said: “Our beloved and inspirational mother Joanna Trollope has died peacefully at her Oxfordshire home, on December 11, aged 82.”
Trollope with Queen Elizabeth II in 2001. Pic: PA
Her literary agent James Gill said: “It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Joanna Trollope, one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.
“Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and – of course – her readers.”
Trollope was born in Gloucestershire in 1943. She won a scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in the 1960s.
After graduating, she joined the Foreign Office before training as a teacher and then turning to writing full-time in 1980.
The author was best known for her novels set in rural middle England and centred around domestic life and relationships.
Her early historical romances were written under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey, before she turned to contemporary fiction.
Her work tackled a range of topics from affairs, blended families and adoption, to parenting and marital breakdown.
Trollope with shortlisted novels for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Pic: PA
Trollope also took part in The Austen Project, which saw six of Jane Austen’s novels retold by contemporary writers.
She wrote the first book in the series, Sense & Sensibility, published in 2013.
Read more from Sky News:
Man found guilty of murdering wife in rare retrial
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In 1996, Trollope was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to literature and later made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019.
She won the Romantic Novel of the Year in 1980 for the book Parson Harding’s Daughter and in 2010 was given a lifetime achievement award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) for her services to romance.
She went on to chair a number of award ceremonies, including the Costa Book Awards, formerly the Whitbread Prize, as well as the BBC National Short Story Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction.
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