Nature TTL Photographer of the Year competition: Mind-bending image of orangutan wins

  • 'The world is going upside down' by Thomas Vijayan, Category Winner & Overall Winner "After spending few days in Borneo, I got this frame stuck in my mind. 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. 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." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'Sleepy Polar Bear': Dennis Stogsdill "We were watching this rather photogenic polar bear for a while in Svalbard, Norway, when he climbed a ridge and decided to just rest. All the while the soft afternoon skies created the perfect backdrop for a “sleepy bear”. "  Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'Red Fox': Tapas Biswas "A red fox enjoying the early morning winter sun, overlooking the rooftops in London, UK." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'A Predator’s Playground': Charl Stols "As bizarre as it might seem to us, jumping up and down on a giraffe carcass and playing with the tail of a dead animal is as normal as it can be for a curious lion cub." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'European Whale Sharks': Nuno Vasco Rodrigues "A whale shark ascends from the ocean depths in Santa Maria Island, Azores. In 2020 and for the second year straight, whale sharks showed up great numbers to this island, attracting tourists from all over Europe." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'Family Outing': Thomas Cawdron "A family of foxes were regularly passing through my garden using a gap in my fence as a passageway. It was the perfect opportunity for me to experiment with my DSLR camera trap to hopefully capture some images. After weeks of trying, I managed to capture this intimate photo of a vixen and her cub." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'Moonwalker': Vladimir Cech Jr. "Wild eurasian lynx walking in front of my homemade camera trap with a beautiful starry sky in the background and shining full moon. The long exposure brings out the night sky, whilst the use of flash renders the lynx sharp in the frame." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'Aurora': Marcus Westberg "A rare type of Aurora over an alpine lake in northern Sweden, far from any disturbing light pollution." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'Manta Space Ship': Grant Thomas "Manta rays are filter feeders, sustaining their huge size by consuming large amounts of plankton and small crustaceans, like krill. The Maldives is one of the only places in the world where you can dive with these majestic animals at night time. For this image, I was positioned flat on the sand, watching one Manta looping around and around whilst feeding on a cloud of planktonic creatures which had gathered. After some time, the manta drifted closer and closer to me until eventually I was able to capture this shot." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'Moon Halo': Bartlomiej Jurecki "This image was taken late at night and shows a luminous ring surrounding the moon. This is very rare and spectacular: it is called a Moon Halo and is an optical phenomenon. A halo is formed under the refraction of light in a cloud containing ice crystals. A halo can appear in the sky at any time of the year, although it is most likely to be seen in winter." Photo: Supplied -
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  • 'Pine Marten in an Abandoned Cottage': James Roddie "A pine marten inside an abandoned cottage in the Scottish Highlands. I ran a camera-trap in the abandoned house for several months after seeing pine marten scat (droppings) outside the entrance." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'The Eye': Ivan Pedretti "On Uttakleiv beach, in Norway, these particular rocks looked like a eye. The shot is set against the beautiful colours of the Northern Lights above." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'The Fox of Arabia': Mohammad Murad "Arabian Red Foxes usually breed in the desert far away from humans. This is a really rare case and one that I monitored for almost three months. I found two dens near the city of Kuwait, with each den having a family of 5 kittens with their parents. One den was close to the houses next to the shore of Kuwait, which amazed me when I first saw them! The other den was still next to houses but in an old palm reserve. Finding breeding foxes near the city is something really unusual. Land degradation, habitat loss, human impact, and overrhunting in the desert may be why these two families decide to risk it all and breed near the city." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'My New Toy': Celia Kujala "Play is very important in the development of young Steller sea lions and they love playing with anything that they find in their environment. When I was diving at Norris Rocks off Hornby Island in Canada, I watched this young sea lion play with a starfish. As I watched her, she swam over to me to show me her beautiful toy. I was able to capture the image just as she was presenting the starfish to me. Sadly, Steller sea lions are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. By observing their playful nature, I hope people will feel a connection with them and want to protect them and their environment." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'The Door': Jose Luis Ruiz Jimenez "A barn owl peeks out the door of an old abandoned house." Photo: Jose Luis Ruiz
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  • 'Snow Monster': Amit Eshel "On February 2020 I was in the steppe zone in eastern Mongolia in search of the elusive Pallas's Cat. After 6 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 Pallas’s cat is listed as 'Near Threatened' on The IUCN Red List and is thought to be at risk from habitat fragmentation, a declining prey base, and consumptive hunting. The current status of Pallas’s cat highlights its need for protection. Its ecology remains poorly understood, impairing the development of conservation strategies. Most records of their occupancy and distribution are in mountainous areas, steppes, and rocky outcrops, suggesting that these are their preferred habitats. Approximately 12% of the species' range in Mongolia occurs within protected areas. But the steppe zone in which most of their distribution is, is out of the scope of protection." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • Nature TTL Photographer of the Year competition Photo competition one time use for TRAVELLER only Photo: Supplied -
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  • 'The Race': Yevhen Samuchenko "My friends and I walked in the centre of the small town of Hampi in India. There was a bicycle parking area nearby. Suddenly a group of langurs jumped on these bicycles and began to frolic around. We were afraid to frighten them away, so I started taking pictures from afar. But then we came very close to them and the langurs continued to play with bicycles for the comical shot." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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  • 'Under Aurora Bridge': Yevhen Samuchenko "Aurora borealis with an unusual arc shape above Kirkjufell mountain in Iceland." Photo: Nature TTL Photographer of the Year
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An image of a climbing orangutan has beaten off 8000 other entries to claim the top prize at the prestigious Nature TTL Photographer of the Year competition.

The picture entitled The World is Going Upside Down was taken in Borneo by Canadian photographer Thomas Vijayan.

While the image appears to be looking at the sky, on closer inspection, it is seen to be a reflection in the water below the tree.

Vijayan said it took him a while to find the perfect location.

"After spending 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. 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."

Will Nicholls, Founder of Nature TTL, called the image "unique".

"It's one of those photos where you can't skim past it. The unique perspective and composition means you are immediately trying to figure out what exactly you are looking at."

The competition is split into eight different categories: Animal Behaviour, Camera Traps, Landscapes, Small World, The Night Sky, Underwater, Urban Wildlife, and Wild Portraits.

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Vijayan wins the top prize of £1500 ($A2742) and he hopes the image will spark conversation about conservation.

"This image means a lot to me because presently the orangutan population is reducing at an alarming rate.

"Deforestation and humans are the key cause behind this. Trees over 1000 years old, which are a major asset to our planet, are being cut down for palm oil plantation. As humans, we have a lot of alternative choices to replace the oil, but the orangutans don't have any options other than losing their home. I am very happy to see this image be successful, as it gives me an opportunity to spread the issue to the wider world."

To view all the finalists head to naturettl.com. 

Stuff.co.nz

See also: Meet the Aussie behind the world's funniest wildlife photo

See also: Photo of two cuddling penguins in St Kilda wins global photography award

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