Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2013

Natural History Museum, London SW1

4 Stars

Wildlife photography is today what hunting was to the Victorians.

It involves all the tracking skills of the hunter - the excitement, the patience and keen powers of observation - but the key difference is that the animal "shot" is not killed.

And how wonderful it is to see these vibrant, visual embodiments of real animals rather than rows of severed antlers on a wall, stuffed birds, sterile in a glass case, or dusty, faded butterflies pinned to a board.

So the Natural History Museum's annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards and exhibition, in conjunction with the BBC, is a must for anyone who loves nature and photography.

This year's selection is no disappointment.

There were a mind-boggling 43,000 entrants from 96 countries and the museum is displaying a selection of only 100 of them.

The few images of animals in direct relationship to humans are the most interesting but these are sadly few in this exhibition.

One, Primate Moments by Marcos Sobral of Portugal, is a shot from above of adjoining courtyards.

In one a monkey family plays while in the next yard a mother on her back plays with her baby. Both groups are unaware of each other.

There are images showing how human rapaciousness is destroying our fragile environment.

Oil Spoils by Garth Lenz of Canada, a photograph of the Alberta Tar sands from the air, is like an apocalyptic vision of a despoiled earth, a lurid pattern of roadways and pits in oily, sandy hues - a moon landscape of desolation.

The overall winner, Essence Of Elephants (below) by South African photographer Greg du Toit is both perplexing and disappointing.

Using a wide-angle lens and worm's-eye view, his image of elephants at a waterhole is eerie and blurred but hardly breathtaking.

The 14-year-old Udayan Rao Pawar's photograph (above) would have made a worthy winner.

He clearly has an eye for captivating images and his shot of a rare mother gharial - a small type of alligator - with her 10 tiny offspring all cavorting on her head as she emerges from the water is perceptive, amusing and technically immaculate.

Brent Sturton of South Africa won the photojournalist award for his sequence on the gory ivory trade with images reflecting the terrible wastage of elephant life for the rich Asian collectors of ivory knick-knacks.

But Pal Hermansen of Norway illustrates that you don't have to travel to exotic places to obtain memorable photos.

His image of a song thrush at its nest in the wheel housing of a wrecked car eloquently makes the point.

The exhibition also reflects how digital photography, new camera and lens technology with the ability to enhance images electronically, has revolutionised the art.

Yet even with all that assistance, the photographer still needs a sharp eye and the dedicated single-mindedness to capture those momentary and magical images.

Runs until March 23 next year. Box office: (020) 7942-5654

John Green