Winners of Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year revealed

Best of British: UK scoops winning spots in Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition

Months of anticipation end today as the curtain lifts on the shots that will take centre stage in the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. The world-renowned show debuts at the Natural History Museum on Friday 19 October, featuring 100 awe-inspiring images with British photographers snaring twenty of the coveted places.

The internationally-recognised competition has drawn over 48,000 entries from 98 countries, from amateur and professional photographers alike. The rigorous selection process brought together judges from across the globe, to pick the best entries based on creativity, artistry and technical complexity.

Chair of the panel, Jim Brandenburg says: ‘It amazes me to discover new and startling moments that have never been seen before. Secret moments in nature combined with a talented eye have given us rare photographs that we will truly be enjoyed forever and I am honoured to play a role in such an important competition."

Through the lens of wildlife photography, the exhibition captures the intrigue and beauty of the natural world, but also points to the uncomfortable reality of our human impact on it.

Eve Tucker"s image of serene gull floating past Canary Wharf is in stark contrast to the chilling nonchalance of the hunter in David Chancellor"s Trophy Room, while Owen Hearns" Flight Paths depicts just how close the relationship between man and nature has become as a majestic eagle mirrors an approaching aeroplane.

The exhibition also takes you from the microscopic intricacy of a singular grain of sand in David Maitland"s Sands of Time, to the sheer vastness of our planet in Anna Henly"s Ice Matters, showing the breadth and wonders of our planet.

The images will tour in venues across the world after their London premiere and be enjoyed by millions of visitors across the globe.