Lyndell Daniel, Sleeping Polar Bears (Wildlife and Animal 2019)

These amazing Polar Bears inhabit an area 250km southeast of Churchill, Manitoba, waiting for the bay to freeze over, at which time they will hunt for seals. The weather is unrelenting, -60c with windchill, but being in the presence of these creatures makes the intense cold so much more bearable. The words exhilarating, mesmerising, surreal do not do justice, but the feelings you experience will never be forgotten. Photographing them is made more difficult with the environment and poor lighting, but with adjustments to your parameters on the camera you can capture some stunning moments. Don't let these sleeping Polar Bears fool you though, they know you are there.

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