by
Team Africa Geographic
Tuesday, 21 February 2023
Our Photographer of the Year 2023 is open for submissions, with cash prizes of US$10,000 for the winner and two runners-up. Winners and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley and his wife Lizz on the ultimate private safari in Botswana.
Photographer of the Year is open for entries from 1 February 2023 to midnight on 30 April 2023. Judging for Photographer of the Year will take place throughout those months and for the month of May 2023, and the winners will be announced in early June 2023.
Photographer of the Year is proudly brought to you by Hemmersbach Rhino Force and Mashatu Botswana .
Here are the best submissions for this week
The mating game: a tense moment between two amorous leopards. Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. © Kevin Dooley
Hanging out. A young mountain gorilla monkeys about in the vines. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. © Suzanne Evans
Zebras make their way to a waterhole in Amboseli. “The light was amazing that evening, the ground dry and dusty. The setting sun provided the perfect backlight, its rays turning the dust golden.” Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © Andrew Skinner
African wild dog in hot pursuit of an impala. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Chris Jolley
Living still life. A tiny frog hides behind the folds of a lily. Connemara lakes, Nyanga National Park, Zimbabwe. © Anjuli Rebelo
Acrobatic buffet. A Cape crow, red-headed finches and Cape sparrows earn their breakfast in gymnastic style. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. © Sharlene Cathro
In the midst of a rainstorm, a stream of water forms in the mossy carpet of a tree. Magoebaskloof, Limpopo, South Africa. © John Mullineux
Making a mighty splash at Mashatu’s photographic hide. Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. © Kevin Dooley
Portrait of a striking black button spider (Latrodectus renivulvatus ). Ruiru, Nairobi, Kenya. © Robin James Backhouse
The bald baboon. There are many potential explanations for this chacma baboon’s depilated look but no cause has been isolated. Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana. © Johann van den Berg
A poignant metaphor as the dehorning of South Africa’s rhinos becomes commonplace as an anti-poaching measure. South Africa. © Kevin Dooley
Feasting on fate. A southern ground-hornbill snacks on a young leopard tortoise. Okavango Delta, Botswana. © Jack Swynnerton
A common egg-eater shows off its black mouth in a threat display. This photograph was captured during the snake’s release into Tygerberg Nature Reserve after being removed from a residential area. Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. © Deon Oosthuizen
As her pack rests nearby after a successful hunt, an African wild dog settles into a cosy nook in a fallen mopane tree. Khwai Private Reserve, Okavango Delta, Botswana. © Hesté de Beer
Indignant guest. A red-billed oxpecker gives its giraffe host – who was trying to shake the bird off – a piece of its mind. Madikwe Game Reserve, North West, South Africa. © Kevin Dooley
A Cape vulture hones in on its landing site at Lammergeier Hide. Giant’s Castle, Maloti-Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site, South Africa. © Margie Botha
The hunter glares through the carnage of its kill. Thornybush Nature Reserve, South Africa. © Matthew Holland
A waterlily reed frog peers bleary-eyed into the early morning light, glittering in the rays of sunshine. Karingani Game Reserve, Mozambique. © Jo Taylor
A venerable bull quenches his thirst in the company of his askaris. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © Paolo Torchio
A handsome squacco heron preens its breeding plumage. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Sharlene Cathro
Young herders tend to their cattle as the sun rises. Omo Valley, Ethiopia. © Kevin Dooley
Blended. A moment of peace captured between a leopard and her cub in golden light. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Paolo Torchio
A cub rests on a bush pillow, uninterested in the antics of his siblings playing nearby. After calls to its sleeping mother, metres away, go unanswered, the little lion drifts off to sleep. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Rian Boshoff
Eye-to-eye with a restful silverback in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. © Pedro Amaral
Double vision. A young Nile crocodile moves stealthily through the calm water. Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Sharlene Cathro
A three-legged leopardess rubs up against a colossal fever tree. Solio Game Reserve, Kenya. © Andy Campbell
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