Youth category

A Abruzzi chamois (Rupicapra ornata) overlooks the familiar mountain landscape intently from its vantage point as the setting sun paints the beautiful Apennines in the most harmonious, golden colours I could have imagined. This spring I was able to experience the fascinating mountain world of Italy. Melancholy grips me and I feel the secrecy of wild nature, which leaves a secure paradise for the animals there. 

What started off as an ordinary game drive ended with this very interesting sighting of these African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) drinking from a natural water hole. I enjoyed changing my composition to highlight the shapes of these gentle giants. Mashatu is aptly referred to as the land of giants and I always enjoy taking images of these creatures.

One morning my father and I went to take pictures of birds at a pond, when we saw the river frozen and in it, frozen leaves, I then decided to take a few pictures of a leaf with a very reddish colour as it had a lot of details and air bubbles.

Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) When I look at this picture, my heart fills with peace. Peaceful is how I would feel, if I were at his place: firmly huddled up to my mother furry coat, my hand resting on her strong legs and my eyes almost closed… as would try not to fall asleep, because I would want to stay conscious to continue savoring this delicious moment.

The crab spiders (Thomisidae) are called in this way due to the similarity in the lateral movement to the crabs that we find on the beach. They lurk in the flowers to make an ambush for the prey that could arrive. When I saw this specimen in a meadow near my house in Piedmont, I tried to take the photo from above, obtaining a different perspective.

One spring afternoon, my father and I went out to photograph birds a few kilometres from home, in an area where there are crops and many birds can be seen. After a short while, I saw a western yellow-wagtail (Motacilla flava) that was moving from one small branch to another with great effort and almost lost its balance, it looked like a tightrope walker instead of a bird.