The Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the most prestigious naturalistic photography exhibition in the world, is staged again this year in Milan in the evocative spaces of the Luciana Matalon Foundation in Foro Buonaparte 67, from 4 October to 22 December 2019.

Organized by Roberto Di Leo 's Radicediunopercento Cultural Association , with the patronage of the Municipality of Milan, the event is always highly anticipated and presents the 100 images awarded at the 54th edition of the photography competition organized by the Natural History Museum in London.

Arriving from 95 countries, 45,000 shots taken by professional and non-professional photographers competing, which were selected, at the end of last year, by an international jury of experts, on the basis of creativity, artistic value and technical complexity.

To admire the finalist and winning photos of the 19 categories of the award that portray rare animals in their habitat, unusual behaviors and images of surprising psychological introspection; an incredible visual experience, compositions and colors that pierce the eyes from a remote corner of the desert, from the depths of the sea or from the intricate green of the jungle.

Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten won the coveted Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 title for his stunning shot, The Golden Couple (Animal Portraits category), which depicts two golden-nosed monkeys in the temperate forest of China's Qinling Mountains. unique habitat for these endangered species. The portrait captures the beauty and fragility of life on earth as well as a glimpse of some of the extraordinary living beings with whom we share the planet. 16-year-old Skye Meaker received the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 award for his captivating shot Lounging Leopard , a leopard that wakes up from sleep in Botswana's Mashatu Game Reserve.

Six Italian photographers awarded starting from the Lombard Marco Colombo who won the victory in the Urban Nature category with the Crossing Paths shot: the protagonist is a Marsican bear who ventured at night in the streets of a village in the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise.

Special mentions also go to Emanuele Biggi author of Eye to Eye in the Animals in their environment category, Valter Bernardeschi with M ister Whiskers in Animal portraits, Lorenzo Shoubridge with Sinuous Moves in Amphibians and Reptiles, Stefano Baglioni with A Rock in a Hard Place in Plants and Funghi and Georg Kantioler with the two photos Dolomites by Moonlight and Ice-Cave Blues in Ambienti della terra.

New in this edition are the Rising Star award, awarded to a photographer aged between 18 and 26 for constant ability and quality, won by Michel d'Oultremont, and the Lifetime Achievement Award assigned to reporter Frans Lanting , one of the most important ever, for the thirty-year contribution to the conservation of wildlife. His assignments for National Geographic magazine led him to pioneering work that raised important environmental issues in Madagascar and Botswana, inspiring a sense of wonder and concern for our planet. In the Cinema Space Projection section to see the video with a selection of his photographs, as well as a choice of images voted extra by the public, among all those in the competition.