by
Team Africa Geographic
Thursday, 4 April 2024
Our Photographer of the Year 2024 is open for submissions. Each of the three winners (the overall winner plus two runners-up) will become a personal sponsor of a wild Hwange lion research collar. Winners and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley on a conservation safari in Botswana. Read more about the prizes here .
Photographer of the Year is open for entries from 1 March 2024 to midnight on 31 May 2024. Judging will take place throughout those months and for the month of June 2024, and the winners will be announced in early July 2024.
Photographer of the Year is sponsored by Imvelo Safari Lodges . In association with Southern African Conservation Trust (SACT) and WILDCRU .
Here are the best Photographer of the Year submissions for this week
“I was observing a pair of European bee-eaters as they hunted with great speed and skill to catch their morning meal. This bee-eater posed with its sizeable catch of a dragonfly for me to capture the moment.” Durbanville, South Africa . © Braeme Holland A closer look. En-route to the waterhole, a lion cub is sidetracked by his curiosity for the photographer. Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana © Lukas Walter A herd of elephants treks across the scorching dry lakebed to feed in nearby swamps. “I tried to capture the elephants as they came toward me for a more intimate vantage point and to accentuate the distinctive crossed tusks of the Amboseli elephants.” Amboseli National Park, Kenya . © Barbara Fleming Crown of feathers. “Usually, a bird getting in front of the object will ruin the image, but in this case it was perfectly placed.” Etosha National Park , Namibia. © Geir Olaf Gjerden
Gentle jaws. A special moment as a lioness carefully moves her cub to safety. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania © Irena Or Winged catch. Captured in a frozen moment, a red bishop springs into action, seizing a passing mayfly. Cape Town , South Africa. © Adam Kossowski Origin of symmetry. Two zebra foals confer in an affectionate huddle. Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa. © Dean Polley Colour in abstraction. A yellow-headed dwarf gecko photographed on the east coast of Zanzibar . © Dean Polley A white rhino stands guard over her sleeping calf – the skyline of a buzzing city juxtaposed in the background. Kenya. © Jinal Shah
A puff adder is released into safety after being removed from a residence in Pretoria. “She was safely released, but not before a quick photo shoot. To capture this image, I had to lay flat on my stomach, with the camera on the ground, directly in her path. She obliged and showed no aggression.” Buffelsdrift Private Game and Nature Reserve, South Africa. © Dean Polley “It’s hard not to be captivated by such small lion cubs. They rarely stay still when awake. These young cubs brought a smile to my face with their antics.” Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. © Barbara Fleming Kith and kin. A baby gorilla is playfully dandled by its older sibling. “It was great to see the interaction between the babies and their older brothers and sisters.” Bwindi Impenetrable National Park , Uganda © Lynn Rosenzweig Sluuurp. Cheetah cubs playing and grooming one another after a hearty meal. Serengeti National Park , Tanzania. © Laksh Kalyanaraman Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. A black and white colobus monkey and baby peep out from the fork of a tree. Kibale National Park , Uganda. © Andrea Di Lenardo Two Bradfield’s hornbills fight for scraps at a campsite, as a yellow-billed hornbill looks on. Savute , Botswana. © Rian van Schalkwyk A mother elephant enjoys a drink in the golden light of the Okavango Delta . Botswana. © Joost Meyer In the waters of False Bay, just off the coast, a great white shark launches a surprise breach attack on a Cape fur seal. Cape Town, South Africa. © David Jenkins A secretive inhabitant of the Analamazaotra Forest, the Madagascar ibis briefly poses for a photo before disappearing into the dense undergrowth. Analamazaotra National Park, Madagascar. © Tullio de Boer
Animated iridescence. A violet-backed starling flutters a wing, showing off his exquisite colouring. Kruger National Park , South Africa. © Joschka Voss Not missing a thing in the forest, an older chimpanzee’s gaze is fixed on the photographer. Gishwati Makura National Park, Rwanda . © Tiffany Franks A young leopard stands to attention upon hearing the approaching vehicle. Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana. © Joost Meyer “We had just left Lower Sabie Rest Camp in the early morning when a lone male lion emerged from the side of the road. He walked past our vehicle across the road and disappeared into the thicket on the other side. It was a majestic sighting, and one we would have missed had we driven past just a moment later.” Kruger National Park, South Africa. © Serkan Hussein A lonely gemsbok treads the path below the famous red dunes of Sossusvlei . Namib Desert, Namibia. © Joost Meyer A rare genetic variety, this young female was photographed while on a morning stroll, patrolling her territory. Laikipia is home to the largest known population of black leopards. Lakipia, Kenya © David Jenkins A giant roundleaf bat emerges from the day’s rest in the Three Sisters Caves for a nightly feed. Shimoni, Kenya. © Karel De La Cruz “After hours of navigating rain-drenched hills in Bwindi’s dense forest, I encountered a group of gorillas. A curious infant ventured across a fallen tree, seeming to practice its steps. Pausing, it met my camera’s lens with inquisitive eyes.” Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. © Subi Sridharan To comment on this story: Login (or sign up) to our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.
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