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31,800 votes later and the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award is revealed

9 February 2022

From a shortlist of 25 images, and 31,800 votes later, the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award has been named as Italian photographer Cristiano Vendramin. His image, Lake of Ice, features willow branches mirrored by the surface of a frozen Italian lake was dedicated to a lost friend. The shortlist was chosen by the Natural History Museum, London, from a record breaking 50,000 images from 95 countries submitted to the fifty-seventh annual competition. The category winners can be seen here.

People's Choice Highly Commended. Shelter from the rain by Ashleigh McCord, USA. During a visit to the Maasai Mara, Kenya, McCord captured this tender moment between a pair of male lions. At first, she had been taking pictures of only one of the lions, and the rain was just a light sprinkle, although the second had briefly approached and greeted his companion before choosing to walk away. But as the rain turned into a heavy downpour, the second male returned and sat, positioning his body as if to shelter the other. Shortly after they rubbed faces and continued to sit nuzzling for some time. McCord stayed watching them until the rain was falling so hard that they were barely visible.
People's Choice Highly Commended. Shelter from the rain by Ashleigh McCord, USA. During a visit to the Maasai Mara, Kenya, McCord captured this tender moment between a pair of male lions. At first, she had been taking pictures of only one of the lions, and the rain was just a light sprinkle, although the second had briefly approached and greeted his companion before choosing to walk away. But as the rain turned into a heavy downpour, the second male returned and sat, positioning his body as if to shelter the other. Shortly after they rubbed faces and continued to sit nuzzling for some time. McCord stayed watching them until the rain was falling so hard that they were barely visible.

Vendramin’s image was captured while visiting Santa Croce Lake in northern Italy in 2019. The scene he captured reminded him of a dear friend who had loved the place, but had passed away. ‘I hope that my photography will encourage people to understand that the beauty of nature can be found everywhere around us, and we can be pleasantly surprised by the many landscapes so close to home,” Vendramin said. “I believe having a daily relationship with nature is increasingly more necessary to have a serene and healthy life.”

People's Choice Highly Commended. Dancing in the snow by Qiang Guo, China. In the Lishan Nature Reserve in Shanxi Province, China, Guo watched as two male golden pheasants continuously swapped places on this trunk – their movements akin to a silent dance in the snow. The birds are native to China, where they inhabit dense forests in mountainous regions. Although brightly coloured, they are shy and difficult to spot, spending most of their time foraging for food on the dark forest floor, only flying to evade predators or to roost in very high trees during the night.
People's Choice Highly Commended. Dancing in the snow by Qiang Guo, China. In the Lishan Nature Reserve in Shanxi Province, China, Guo watched as two male golden pheasants continuously swapped places on this trunk – their movements akin to a silent dance in the snow. The birds are native to China, where they inhabit dense forests in mountainous regions. Although brightly coloured, they are shy and difficult to spot, spending most of their time foraging for food on the dark forest floor, only flying to evade predators or to roost in very high trees during the night.

The voting in the People’s Choice also recognized the work of four other photographers as Highly Commended. The works includes Shelter from the rain by Ashleigh McCord, Hope in a burned plantation by Canadian photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, The eagle and the bear by Jeroen Hoekendijk, and Qiang Guo’s Dancing in the snow.

People's Choice Highly Commended. Hope in a burned plantation by Jo-Anne McArthur, Canada. McArthur flew to Australia in early 2020 to document the stories of animals affected by the devastating bushfires that were sweeping through the states of New South Wales and Victoria. Working exhaustively alongside Animals Australia (an animal protection organisation) she was given access to burn sites, rescues, and veterinary missions. This eastern grey kangaroo and her joey pictured near Mallacoota, Victoria, were among the lucky ones. The kangaroo barely took her eyes off McArthur as she walked calmly to the spot where she could get a great photo. She had just enough time to crouch down and press the shutter release before the kangaroo hopped away into the burned eucalyptus plantation.
People's Choice Highly Commended. Hope in a burned plantation by Jo-Anne McArthur, Canada. McArthur flew to Australia in early 2020 to document the stories of animals affected by the devastating bushfires that were sweeping through the states of New South Wales and Victoria. Working exhaustively alongside Animals Australia (an animal protection organisation) she was given access to burn sites, rescues, and veterinary missions. This eastern grey kangaroo and her joey pictured near Mallacoota, Victoria, were among the lucky ones. The kangaroo barely took her eyes off McArthur as she walked calmly to the spot where she could get a great photo. She had just enough time to crouch down and press the shutter release before the kangaroo hopped away into the burned eucalyptus plantation.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition currently running in London at the Natural History Museum.

People's Choice Highly Commended. The eagle and the bear by Jeroen Hoekendijk, The Netherlands. Black bear cubs will often climb trees, where they wait safely for their mother to return with food. Here, in the depths of the temperate rain forest of Anan in Alaska, this little cub decided to take an afternoon nap on a moss-covered branch under the watchful eye of a juvenile bald eagle. The eagle had been sitting in this pine tree for hours and Hoekendijk found the situation extraordinary. He quickly set out to capture the scene from eye-level and, with some difficulty and a lot of luck, was able to position himself a bit higher on the hill and take this image as the bear slept on, unaware.
People's Choice Highly Commended. The eagle and the bear by Jeroen Hoekendijk, The Netherlands. Black bear cubs will often climb trees, where they wait safely for their mother to return with food. Here, in the depths of the temperate rain forest of Anan in Alaska, this little cub decided to take an afternoon nap on a moss-covered branch under the watchful eye of a juvenile bald eagle. The eagle had been sitting in this pine tree for hours and Hoekendijk found the situation extraordinary. He quickly set out to capture the scene from eye-level and, with some difficulty and a lot of luck, was able to position himself a bit higher on the hill and take this image as the bear slept on, unaware.