Dutch photographer Alex Pansier has won the 2021 Close-up Photographer of the Year Challenge: Two of a Kind with his heart-warming picture of a pair of European ground squirrels sharing a faded poppy on a lawn in Vienna. These animals are classified as vulnerable, mainly due to habitat loss and changes of land use in agriculture.
"I really enjoyed watching them working together, like father and son," explains Alex. "For me, observing and photographing nature is a great way to unwind and share the beauty that’s all around us."
The challenge runs throughout November, outside the annual competition of Close-up Photographer of the Year, and has a different theme each year. This time the challenge was to photograph two similar things - anything from a pair of animals to flowers.
While Alex took the top spot, British photographer Barry Webb took second place with his image of a pair of slime moulds. "Although these slime moulds are miniscule," said competition co-founder Tracy Calder, "Barry has transformed them into majestic trees making us wonder what else we pass by without noticing."
James Cutmore is the picture editor of BBC Science Focus Magazine. He has worked on the magazine and website for over a decade, telling compelling science stories through the use of striking imagery. He holds a degree in Fine Art, and has been nominated for the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent Awards, being highly commended in 2020. His main areas of interest include photography that highlights positive technology and the natural world. For many years he was a judge for the Wellcome Trust's image competition, as well as judging for the Royal Photographic Society.
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