Toward the Light

Photograph by Gönye Csaba, GDT EWPY 2010
A snail moves toward the light in a photograph that won the "Other Animals" category in the 2010 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The contest, presented annually by the Society of German Nature Photographers, awards photographs in eight different categories as well as the Fritz Pölking Award and Fritz Pölking Junior Award.
In 2010, the competition received more than 11,000 entries from more than 29 countries. Entrants had to live in Europe, although their photographs were taken around the world.

2. Tarpon and Silversides, Grand Cayman

Tarpon and Silversides, Grand Cayman

Photograph by Mike Sutton Brown, Your Shot
The picture was taken at Eden Rock, Grand Cayman. For just a short time every year these silversides swarm caves and swim-throughs at Cayman's dive sites. The picture was taken late afternoon just as the sun was going down. I was hiding behind the silversides, low in the rocks. As the tarpon swam through the silversides, they eventually saw me and turned away. Just like you see in the picture.

3. Ghostly Owl

Ghostly Owl

Photograph by David Allemand and Christophe Sidamon-Pesson, GDT EWPY 2010
An owl looks like a glowing apparition as it flies through a snow-covered landscape in Quebec.
Titled "Snowy Owl," the photograph won a "highly commended" mention and the "Prize of the Audience" award in the 2010 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The contest was open to photographers based in Europe, though images were not limited to European subjects.

4. First Swim

First Swim

Photograph by Solvin Zankl, Fritz Pölking Award, GDT EWPY 2010
A young olive ridley turtle struggles against the ocean swell as it makes its way towards deeper water in Costa Rica.
The turtles do not feed for the first few days after hatching, opting instead to live on the remaining yolk from their egg sac (pictured on the hatchling's underside, above).
This photograph was snapped by Solvin Zankl, a German wildlife photographer who won the 2010 Fritz Pölking Award.

5. Bracing Against the Tide

Bracing Against the Tide

Photograph by Asier Castro de la Fuente, GDT EWPY 2010
A starfish braces against the tide in a photograph titled "The Comet."
The image was a runner-up for best image in the "Other Animals" category in the 2010 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

6. Kingfisher Dive

Kingfisher Dive

Photograph by Manfred Delpho, GDT EWPY 2010
A kingfisher dives after fish in the water, its wings spread open to brake its descent.
This photograph won a "highly commended" mention in the "Underwater World" category of the 2010 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

7. Fleeing Cheetah

Fleeing Cheetah

Photograph by Britta Jaschinski, GDT EWPY 2010
A cheetah pauses just long enough to glance at a photographer as it flees the scene of a wildfire in Tanzania in October 2007.
Taken by London-based photographer Britta Jaschinski, this black and white image won the "Overall Winner" award in the 2010 European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
In a statement, Jaschinski recalled the moment this photograph was taken: "A bushfire had destroyed much of the region. Many large acacias lay in flames.
"Suddenly a cheetah appeared on the charred savannah. The fire really should have been a stroke of luck for the big cats: confused prey everywhere deprived of their cover. But the cheetah, too, seemed restless and uprooted, almost ghostlike. I took a picture and watched as the animal slowly disappeared on the scorched savannah."