‘Unique perspective’ scoops photo prize

Climbing a tree and waiting for hours may not your regular day’s work, but for Canadian snapper Thomas Vijayan it’s proven to be an award-winning move.

Vijayan’s photo of an orangutan climbing a 1000-year-old tree with the forest canopy and sky reflected in a lake below has won him the 2021 Nature TTL photography title

and £1500 ($2960) prize money.

“This image means a lot to me because presently the orangutan population is reducing at an alarming rate,” says Vijayan of his winning image.

“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 plantations. 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.”

More than 8000 entries from nature and wildlife photographers all over the world were vying for the top prize. But Vijayan’s picture stood out in a strong field.

“Thomas’ image is really unique, and immediately stood out to the judging panel,” said Will Nicholls, founder of Nature TTL. “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.”

Photographers could enter nine categories, and some produced truly amazing views of the natural world. The images show nature and wildlife in their stunning beauty, the adaptation and struggle for survival in a changing world and how a unique perspective can change your view of the Earth and the species that live there.

And we don’t even have to climb a tree to see it.

Canadian photographer Thomas Vijayan won the overall prize and the animal behaviour section in the Nature Photography of the Year contest with this shot of an orangutan in Borneo.

Dennis Stogsdill’s resting polar bear on Svalbard, Norway, won the wild portraits section of the Nature Photographer of the Year competition.

Johan Wandrag of South Africa won the animal behaviour section with this shot in his homeland of a crocodile snatching a fishy snack.