"Animals in Their Environment" Winner: "Whooper Swans at Dawn"
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, 2005
Natural History Museum, London, and BBC Wildlife Magazine

Capturing this classic Japanese winterscape on film wasn't a comfortable experience for German photographer Martin Eisenhawer.

Bent over a lake on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido in subfreezing temperatures, Eisenhawer waited for two hours for the swans and biting winds to settle, creating the mirror-smooth surface and composition he wanted.

“I don't like taking pictures while wearing gloves, but if I hadn't, my fingers would have frozen to the camera,” he said.

Eisenhawer says whooping swans are attracted to the ice-patched lake's warm thermal waters. “The swans don't like to stay on the ice too long, otherwise they get cold feet,” he added.

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Photograph courtesy the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, organized by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine