Page 56 - Australian Photography Dec 2020

RESULTS: WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION
THE FOX THAT GOT THE GOOSE
BY LIINA HEIKKINEN, FINLAND
YOUNG WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2020
It was on a summer holiday in Helsinki that Liina, then aged 13, heard about a large fox family living in the city suburbs on the island of Lehtisaari. The island has both wooded areas and fox-friendly citizens, and the foxes are relatively unafraid of humans. So Liina and her father spent one long July day, without a hide, watching the two adults and their six large cubs, which were almost the size of their parents, though slimmer and lankier. In another month, the cubs would be able to fend for themselves, but in July they were only catching insects and earthworms and a few rodents, and the parents were still bringing food for them – larger prey than the more normal voles and mice. It was 7pm when the excitement began, with the vixen’s arrival with a barnacle goose. Feathers flew as the cubs began fighting over it.
Nikon D4, 28–300mm f3.5–5.6 lens @ 68mm. 1/125s at f5.6, ISO 1600.
LIFE IN THE BALANCE
BY JAIME CULEBRAS, SPAIN
WINNER: BEHAVIOUR
– AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
A Manduriacu glass frog snacks on a spider in the foothills of the Andes, northwestern Ecuador. As big consumers of invertebrates, glass frogs play a key part in maintaining balanced ecosystems. That night, Jaime’s determination to share his passion for them had driven him to walk for four hours, in heavy rain, through the forest to reach the frogs’ streams in Manduriacu Reserve to capture this image.
Sony A7 III, 90mm f2.8 lens. 1/100s @ f16, ISO 320. Yongnuo flash and trigger, softbox.
| 56 | DECEMBER 2020 | AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM