The category winners in the latest Outdoor Photographer of the Year (OPOTY) have just been announced. Shaun Walby, from Leeds, scooped the prize in the At the Water’s Edge category with his exquisite capture of a misty morning on the river Wharfe (above). Greg Whitton from Solihull won the Light on the Land prize with his evocative photograph of a fleeting moment of stunning light illuminating Icelandic peaks. Craig Parry from Byron Bay in Australia picked up top prize in the Under Exposed category, for underwater images, with his wonderful half-submerged shot of a humpback whale swishing its giant fin through the blue waters of the South Pacific off the coast of Tonga. Stefan Gerrits from the Netherlands, triumphed in the Wildlife Insight category, Johannes Klapwijk won the Small World prize, while Sandi Bertoncelj captured the essence of what it feels like to be on a high mountain in adverse weather with his gritty black & white image of two ski tourers climbing a Slovenian peak, winning the Live the Adventure category. Ten-year-old Josiah Launstein, from Alberta, Canada, was crowned Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year for his image of bighorn sheep going head to head in battle.

Press Release

Stunning photos of Planet Earth!

Category winners of the Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition revealed

From the wild and stormy vistas of Iceland and the gentle beauty of the British landscape to exquisite wildlife from the Middle East and Canada and the gritty reality of high mountain adventures, the category winners in the latest Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition have captured the magnificent diversity of our planet.

The category winning images can be seen at www.opoty.co.uk from the embargo time and the Overall Winner – chosen from the category winners – will be announced live on the Outdoor Photography PhotoBox stage at the Telegraph Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show at London ExCel at 14.30 on Sunday 15th February 2015. All the winning images and selected commended images will be exhibited as large format prints at the show too (see more about the show at http://telegraphoutdoorshow.co.uk/).

The category winners have all won £200 plus a Fjällräven Kaipak 28 backpack, and the lucky Overall Winner will be heading off for a money-can’t-buy-it adventure of a lifetime on the epic Fjällräven Polar dogsled expedition across the Scandinavian Arctic at the beginning of April.

The category-winning photographers come from around the globe, and their images had to fight off fierce competition from over 10,000 images entered by professional and amateur photographers. There has been overwhelming praise from the judges for the extremely high quality of the shortlisted images.

Category winners

There are two category winners from the UK.

Shaun Walby, from Leeds, scooped the prize in the At the Water’s Edge category with his exquisite capture of a misty morning on the river Wharfe in the Yorkshire Dales.
Shaun said of his win, ‘Absolutely brilliant news! I am lost for words. Given the standards in the shortlist, I am utterly thrilled.’

Greg Whitton from Solihull won the Light on the Land prize with his evocative photograph of a fleeting moment of stunning light illuminating Icelandic peaks. His reaction to news of his win was, ‘Wow, just wow! With so many great images entered, to come out on top for Light on the Land is just amazing. Thank you!’

Craig Parry from Byron Bay in Australia picked up top prize in the Under Exposed category, for underwater images, with his wonderful half-submerged shot of a humpback whale swishing its giant fin through the blue waters of the South Pacific off the coast of Tonga. Craig said upon learning of his victory, ‘Wow, what awesome news to wake up to! I am so happy and proud to have this image recognised as a winning image.’

Stefan Gerrits from the Netherlands, who now lives in Dubai in the UAE, triumphed in the Wildlife Insight category with his beautiful panoramic black & white image of an oryx atop a windblown dune in the United Arab Emirates. Stefan’s reaction to his win was, ‘What fantastic news. I’m overwhelmed, and over the moon!’

Johannes Klapwijk, from Zwolle in the Netherlands, wowed the judges with his intimate and atmospheric photo of a butterfly stretching its wings at sunrise near his hometown, and won the Small World category. Johannes reacted to his win with, ‘Woohooooooo! Great news! Thanks.’

Sandi Bertoncelj, from the city of Kranj in Slovenia, captured the essence of what it feels like to be on a high mountain in adverse weather with his gritty black & white image of two ski tourers climbing a Slovenian peak through blizzard conditions. He won the Live the Adventure category. Sandi’s reaction when he heard about his win was, ‘I am very, very pleased that my image won. This is a great success for me!’

One of the great stories of the competition was the victory of Josiah Launstein, from Alberta, Canada, who was crowned Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year – a category open only to photographers under the age of 18.

Josiah captured his winning image of bighorn sheep going head to head in battle when he was just nine years old, and he is now just 10 years old. He is the youngest member of the much-celebrated Launstein wildlife photography family, and it was only the second photography competition he has entered. Josiah’s father, John, said of his son’s triumph, ‘That is awesome news! We are so excited for him! You sure made Josiah’s day (year?)! Josiah shares my own immense affection for this species and has logged countless hours and kilometres in the mountains with me in search of his next favourite bighorn image.’

The judges
This year’s Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition saw a record number of entries – over 10,000 in total – from around the globe. The judging panel featured some of the most respected names in the UK outdoor photography community, including landscape photographers Pete Bridgwood and David Baker, wildlife photographer and filmmaker Andy Luck, nature photographer, writer and former editor of Outdoor Photography Tracy Hallett, professional adventure sports photographer Pete Webb, and current Outdoor Photography editor Steve Watkins.

Prize details
Each category winner receives £200 plus a superb Fjällräven Kaipak 28 backpack. The Overall Winner wins an exclusive place on the Fjällräven Polar dogsled expedition from 6-11th April, which will see them driving their own
dogsled for 300km across the Scandinavian Arctic, camping out in the snowy wilderness and learning critical survival skills from experts. They will receive all the clothing and equipment they need for the adventure from Fjällräven, and the company’s outdoor experts will be on hand throughout to offer advice about coping with and thriving in what seems such an inhospitable wilderness. The aim of the Polar is to show that almost anyone can enjoy a winter adventure in the Arctic if they have the right equipment and knowledge (see more about the expedition at http://www.fjallraven.com/polar).
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For further information on the competition, please visit www.opoty.co.uk.

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