Douglas Gore, director of the Natural History Museum in London, which hosts the annual competition, said: “Nima's stunning and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet.”
She said that more than 50,000 photos were entered into the competition last year, of which 25 were shortlisted by the jury and the Natural History Museum. The “Ice Bed” was chosen to win by 75,000 audience members, a record number, the museum said.
Here are the other four highly praised photos in the competition:
Tsahi Finkelstein captured this moment between a Balkan pond turtle and a northern-ranged ground dragonfly, while photographing shorebirds in the Jezreel Valley in Israel.
The Natural History Museum said: “The dragonfly unexpectedly landed on the turtle’s nose, but instead of catching the insect, the turtle seemed to enjoy the interaction as they shared a moment in the murky swamp waters.”
“starling growls”
Daniele Dincisco spent hours following starlings around Rome on a clear winter's day before he captured a flock of them circling in the form of a giant bird. The amazing phenomenon of a flock of starlings transforming into different shapes Known as mumbling.
In this photo by Mark Boyd, a pair of lionesses can be seen sharing parenting duties as they lovingly care for one of the pride's cubs in the Masai Mara in Kenya.
Audun Rikardsen used exposure and flash to photograph the majestic aurora borealis — also known as the northern lights — illuminating a pair of moon jellyfish in the waters of a fjord outside Tromsø, northern Norway.
