19. Runner-Up, Animal Portraits: “Last Embrace” By Roie Galitz
“A female African elephant has died of natural causes, mainly old age. A pride of lions have found her and enjoyed the big feast. Suddenly, a young lioness, only 7 months old, came to the elephant and started working her way around her, moving between the elephant’s front legs, in a way that resembles a hug.
One of the things I like about the image, besides the composition and lighting, is the viewer’s experience with the image, which is a bipolar one. I like to watch people’s reaction to this, when they first respond with “awww, they are hugging” and after a few seconds they realize that something else is going on. This kind of engagement creates an interesting relationship with the frame.
This image was taken in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.”