Wildlife Photographer of the Year: ghostly face or fish?

What bash you spot erstwhile you look astatine this photo?

The representation appears to amusement an enormous, scary look abruptly emerging from the ocean.

But what you're really looking astatine is simply a stargazer fish which has buried itself successful the sandy level of the Mediterranean.

The photograph was taken by Pietro Formis from Italy and is among respective to beryllium highly commended successful this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Mr Formis explained that helium doesn't usually instrumentality photos for competitions. He submitted this representation due to the fact that helium "liked it a lot" but didn't expect to triumph immoderate commendation.

"I'm ace blessed and I'm counting the days for the ceremony. I deliberation that I volition spot astir of my, I volition accidental colleagues, but they are my heroes and the apical of photography truthful I can't picture however blessed I am," Mr Formis said.

The wide winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contention volition beryllium announced astatine an awards ceremonial connected 10 October. The yearly Natural History Museum accumulation showcasing 100 photographs chosen from the thousands that entered the contention volition unfastened the pursuing Friday, 13 October, and past arsenic usual, volition past spell connected circuit astir the world.

Scroll down this page, you'll beryllium capable to bask immoderate of the different highly commended images successful what is the 59th twelvemonth of the contest.

Atlantic Stargazer fish, whose Latin sanction is Uranoscopus scaber, are truthful called due to the fact that their eyes instrumentality upwards. They are besides predators, and successful bid to drawback their prey they fell nether soil with lone their eyes and rima disposable - that's what you tin spot successful Mr Formis' photo.

"To maine it looks similar a voodoo disguise oregon a quality look and those are taxon that I similar most, the taxon that person a human-like face, with large eyes and large mouth. It's a beauteous animal," Mr Formis said.

Mr Formis explained that by utilizing concentrated airy from a flash, a dilatory shutter velocity and deliberate question helium managed to photograph the stargazer astir illuminated successful the wide bluish water.

"For maine it's similar a waterfall and past from down you spot this scary face. I took a fewer antithetic images, but this 1 I prefer," helium said.

Underwater photography has astir go an "obsession" for Mr Formis since his begetter - besides a lensman - took him diving and changed his life.

"Going successful the h2o and taking pictures of each the beauty, it's thing that I consciousness privileged to do," helium said.

Zhai Zeyu watched arsenic coots attempted to transverse a frozen pond successful northeast China. After scrambling successful the h2o for food, this coot yet caught a loach.

Category - Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, 10 Years and Under

A controlled occurrence was lit connected an country of Kenya's Maasai Mara. Not agelong afterwards, hundreds of birds - peculiarly storks and kites - arrived astatine the scene. Elza noted that portion astir birds kept their distance, the storks moved adjacent to the occurrence looking for casual prey.

Category - Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Birds

Atsuyuki Ohshima caught this changeable of a young pistillate Yakushima macaque enjoying a thrust connected a deer's back. On Yakushima Island, this is uncommon but not unheard of.

Category - Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Mammals

A mason bee builds the extortion of its nest portion memorising landmarks astir it truthful it was capable to find the nest again. Solvin gradually moved his instrumentality towards the nest each clip it flew distant and aft 2 hours, the bee was utilizing his instrumentality arsenic a landmark.

Category - Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Invertebrates

While documenting the evacuation of animals from war-torn Ukraine, Michał snapped the infinitesimal a squad opened a crate to cheque connected an evacuated tiger cub. 

Category - Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Photojournalism