Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 award
A picture of an elusive snow leopard on a night-time prowl has won the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 award
Snowstorm leopard
Picture of an elusive snow leopard, captured at an altitude of more than 13,000ft in India's Ladak's Hemis High Altitude National Park
Canon EOS Rebel XT + 10-22mm lens at 16mm; 1/200 sec at f16; ISO 100; waterproof camera box + Plexiglass tubes for flashes; Trailmaster 1550-PS remote trigger
Steve Winter's image was captured during a 13-month quest to snap the perfect photo of the endangered species in its hostile habitat high in the mountains of Central Asia.
Speaking about his winning snap, Mr Winter said: "I was thrilled to have finally captured the shot I had dreamed of - a wild snow leopard in its true element."
The competition, now in its 44th year, is run by BBC Wildlife magazine and London's Natural History Museum.
The panel of judges spent months shifting through more than 32,350 entries before deciding on the winners
"Everything comes together in this striking picture," said judge Mark Carwardine on Mr Winter's image.
"The drama of the snow, the mystery of the darkness, the posture of the rarely photographed snow leopard and the intriguing composition."
The show
Canon EOS 400D + Canon EF300mm f4 IS USM lens + Canon EF 1.4 extender; 1/200 sec at f5.6; ISO 100
This photo showing a young male lion harassing a thirsty giraffe at a waterhole in Namibia has won this year's Young Photographer of the Year prize.
It was taken by teenager Catriona Parfitt during a family safari holiday in 2007.
Trouble-maker
Nikon D2X + Nikon 12-24mm lens; 1/250 sec at f10; ISO 125; graduated neutral-density filter; flash
Italian Stefano Unterthiner's photo of a mischievous Sulawesi black-crested macaque won the competition’s Animal Potraits category.
The monkey earned his nickname "trouble-maker", Stefano explained, because it was more interested in the photographer than being photographed.
Deadlock
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II + 100mm macro lens; 1/500 sec at f10; ISO 50; twin flashes
David Maitland's "deadlock" is this year's winner of the competition’s Behaviour: Other Animals category.
David said the photo was just a snapshot in the struggle between a tree-frog and cat-eyed tree-snake that lasted for hours through the night in the tropical forests of Belize.
Clash of Eagles
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF500mm f4 IS USM lens; 1/1000 sec at f4.5; ISO 500; tripod
The photo of a fight between two white-tailed eagles over the carcass of moose in the depths of a Polish winter secured the top prize in the Behaviour: Birds category for Antoni Kasprzak.
The competition, now in its 44th year, is run by BBC Wildlife magazine and London's Natural History Museum.
An exhibition of the best images from this year's competition opens to visitors of the Natural History Museum, London, on Friday, 31 October 2008
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