
Snow Moment by Jasper Doest, one of many images on display at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum
NOVEMBER 23 TO MARCH 23 It’s easy to feel like you’re roaming the African savanna with a lion, swimming the Arctic Ocean with a polar bear, and skittering about the prairies with a field mouse while viewing the stunning scenes of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum. Drawn from more than 43,000 submitted to an international competition organized by the BBC and London’s Natural History Museum, the show—now in its 49th year, but enjoying its North American debut—features 100 large-scale, back-lit prints that depict both the natural world’s inherent artistry and the skill of the photographers who capture it.
A diversity of styles are on full display across 18 categories, including animal portraits, “wildscapes,” and botanical realms: for example, Luis Javier Sandoval’s sea turtle image, Dive Buddy, is notable for the contrast of its deep ocean blue and sandy white colours; Jasper Doest relied on a lot of patience and a little luck (plus ample photographic know-how, of course) to shoot a surrealistic portrait of a Japanese macaque; and Brent Stirton’s God’s Ivory series photojournalistic techniques to shed light on religion’s connection to elephant poaching. Of note, too, are a number of vivid images shot by budding photographers—some younger than 10 years old.

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- <em>Snow Moment</em> by Jasper Doest (The Netherlands), winner in the Creative Visions category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Monkey
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- <em>Shot in the Dark</em> by Andrew Schoeman (South Africa), runner-up in the Nature in Black and White category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Lion Dark
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- <em>Eye of a Toad</em> by Lukasz Bożycki (Poland), commended in the Animal Portraits category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Frog
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- <em>Badger Dream Scene</em> by Mark Steichen (Luxembourg), commended in the Animal Portraits category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Badger
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- On Top of the World by Jérémie Villet (France), commended in the Animals in Their Environment category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Mountain Goat
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- <em>Harvest Gold</em> by Etienne Francey (Switzerland), commended in the 15- to 17-year-old photographer category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Mouse
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- <em>The Water Bear</em> by Paul Souders (USA), winner in the Animals in Their Environment category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Polar Bear
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- <em>Curiosity and the Cat</em> by Hannes Lochner (South Africa), joint runner-up in the Animal Portraits category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Lion Close
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- <em>Resurrection</em> by Marsel van Oosten (The Netherlands), commended in the Creative Visions category.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Sequoia
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- <em>Essence of Elephants</em> by Greg du Toit (South Africa), Animal Portraits category winner and Wildlife Photographer of the Year Grand Title honoree.
- ROM Wildlife Photographer Elephants
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Bonus! Reflecting the inclusive nature of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, Torontonians are encouraged to upload their own wildlife photos to Twitter with the hashtag #ROMWPY. Screens throughout the exhibition will showcase these images alongside the winning photos. —Stephanie Young
• Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, 416-586-8000; rom.on.ca
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