Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016

Mexican photographer Luis Javier Sandoval's image titled 'Star Player' is the winner of the 2016 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in the impressions section. As soon as Luis slipped into the water, the curious young California sea lions came over for a better look. He had arrived the night before at the island of Espíritu Santo in the Gulf of California, sleeping aboard his boat so that he would be ready to dive at sunrise. He had in mind a picture that needed warm light, a slow shutter speed, friendly subjects. One of the pups dived down, swimming gracefully with its strong fore-flippers (sea lions are also remarkably agile on land, since they can control each of their hind‑flippers independently). It grabbed a starfish from the bottom, started throwing it to Luis. "I love the way sea lions interact with divers, how smart they are," says Luis. The youngsters often use games to hone their skills, especially fishing techniques. As the pup was playing very close to the breaking point of the waves, Luis’s timing had to be spot-on to frame it in the right place against the movement of the water. Angling his camera up towards the dawn light – just as the pup offered him the starfish, another youngster slipped by close to the rocks – he created his artistic impression of the sea lion’s playful nature. Luis' equipment includes: Nikon D7000 + Tokina 10–17mm f3.5–4.5 lens at 10mm, 1/8 sec at f13, ISO 100, Aquatica housing , two Sea &; Sea YS-110 strobes. - © Luis Javier Sandoval Wildlife Photographer of the Year - Wednesday 19th October 2016 (1 Picture)