Louie Owen, Catching the Sun's early rays (ANIMAL & NATURE 2026)

On a recent trip to Botswana, every morning in the golden light the Chacma Baboons would descend on the waterhole after the elephants had been there to scratch in the dung. Their antics and shananigans were a treat to witness from the underground photo hide, which made for perfect low level and backlit shots capturing the mist off the water, the golden light of the morning rising sun and the environment in which they live. There were many chuckles coming from the hide as they went about their business. I chose these images as they give the viewer a sense of the environment as well as the characters of the Chacma Baboons.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.