Arshdeep Singh, 10, is among the winners of the 2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award in the 10-years-and-under category for his photograph ‘Pipe Owls’, which is of two spotted owlets nested inside a pipe.
Now in its 53rd installment, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is organised by the Britain’s Natural History Museum.
Among the junior winners, there were three categories 10 years and under, 11-14 years and 15-17 years.
"I would like to thank my family because without their support this wasn't really possible. Thank you for motivating and supporting me. Special thanks to my grandparents, parents and my sister," Arshdeep said in a Facebook post.
Arshdeep would like to become a wildlife photographer and help with conservation. He started taking photos at the age of six and has already had pictures published in magazines and newspapers in India and abroad, says National History Museum website.
Driving with his father through Kapurthala one day, Arshdeep saw an owlet disappearing into an old pipe. Asking to stop the car, he took out his father's camera and telephoto lens, resting it on half-open window.
Soon the spotted owlet emerged, followed by the second one. It was then that Arshdeep captured the moment with the birds staring right at him.
Spotted owlets are common in Punjab, but these birds are rarely seen in the day as they are noctural.