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Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2016: Diver swimming with moon jellyfish among winners

The overall winner is revealed on Saturday 13 February

Jess Denham,Iwona Karbowska

Friday 08 January 2016 16:40 GMT

(© Henrik Spranz)

Trees soaked in sunlight, a dramatic thunderstorm, a classroom of students in Pakistan and a freediver swimming with moon jellyfish are just a handful of the beautiful images awarded prizes in this year’s Outdoor Photographer of the Year Competition.

The overall winner is not announced until Saturday 13 February but the best photographs from each category have been revealed, and are as stunning as you might expect.

Ben Wayman’s shot of trees dripping with dew in Northumberland won Light On The Land and Naomi Stolow’s creative capturing of an elephant’s trunk in South Africa was deemed the best in the Wildlife Insight group.

(© Ben Wayman)

Greg Whitton caught the moment two walkers reached the top of Tryfan’s north ridge in Snowdonia and topped the Live The Adventure category, while William Eades took his photo of a thunderstorm in his hometown of Port Macquarie, Australia, and won for At The Water’s Edge.

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

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1/8Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

Under Exposed Category Winner – George Karbus

George Karbus now living in Ireland but born in Czech Republic scooped the prize in the Under Exposed category, for underwater images, with his dreamlike shot of a freediver swimming with moon jellyfish in Irish waters

© George Karbus

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

At Water’s Edsge Category Winner – William Eades

William Eades from New South Wales, Australia won the At the Water’s Edge category with his dramatic image of a thunderstorm he took at Tacking Point, which is close to his hometown Port Macquarie

© William Eades

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

Small World Category Winner – Henrik Spranz

Henrik Spranz from Austria’s Vienna picked up top prize in the Small World category with his macro photograph of a gossamer-winged butterfly at sunrise

© Henrik Spranz

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

Spirit of Travel Category Winner – Andrea Francolini

Andrea Francolini from Sydney, Australia won the Spirit of Travel, a new category for the 2015 competition, with her thought-provoking picture of a classroom of students at Foundation School in Chalt Pain, Gilgit-Baltistan, northern Pakistan

©Andrea Francolini

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

Young Category Winner - Anastasia Ziavra

Anastasia Ziavra from Greece was crowned Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year with her painterly picture of a beach in Chalkidiki, Greece. Using the low light and a long exposure, Anastasia, at just 15-years-old, wowed the judges with her photograph

© Anastasia Ziavra

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

Light on the Land Category Winner – Ben Wayman

Ben Wayman having parked in the car park at Allen Banks, near Haydon Bridge in Northumberland in the north of England, I set off walking south, following the river Allen. My aim was to reach the remains of Staward Peel, a 14th-century monk fortress. The trees lining the river were dripping with dew, drawing me to capture this beautiful sun-soaked morning scene

© Ben Wayman

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

Wildlife Insight Category Winner – Naomi Stolow

Naomi Stolow from north London, sparked the judges’ imagination and triumphed in the Wildlife Insight category with her creative image of an elephant’s trunk, which she took while camping in South Africa

© Naomi Stolow

Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition winners

Live the Adventure Category Winner – Greg Whitton

Greg Whitton from Solihull, UK, captured the essence of what it’s like to be on a high mountain in adverse weather with his epic image of two walkers on top of Tryfan’s north ridge in Snowdonia, north Wales

© Greg Whitton

Henrik Spranz’s close-up of a gossamer-winged butterfly won Small World, George Karbus scooped the prize for his diver in Under Exposed and Andrea Francolini won Spirit of Travel for her picture of a school in northern Pakistan.

(©Andrea Francolini)

More than 12,000 images were entered into the competition, with all winning and commended pieces forming an exhibition at the Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show at London’s ExCeL next month.

The overall winner will be announced live at the Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show at London ExCeL, in the UK, on Saturday 13th February 2016. For more information, visit www.telegraphoutdoorshow.co.uk.

(© William Eades)

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