Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 25

Natural History Museum Sets Oct. 13 Wildlife Photographer Winners Reveal, Opening London Exhibition on Oct. 16

Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 25

Natural History Museum Sets Oct. 13 Wildlife Photographer Winners Reveal, Opening London Exhibition on Oct. 16

Q: What secret technology allowed a camera to survive freezing Arctic waters for hours to capture a polar bear's deadly gaze?

It was not a “secret” device so much as a rugged wildlife-camera setup: Rikardsen placed an underwater camera in a waterproof housing beneath the seal’s breathing hole and fitted it with a motion sensor, allowing it to sit unattended in freezing Arctic water until an animal triggered it. The reporting provided does not name a special brand, heater, or anti-freeze system. What is clear is that the image depended on remote-trigger technology rather than a photographer actively operating the camera. The motion sensor let the camera conserve power and only shoot when wildlife passed overhead, which is crucial in extreme cold and low-light Arctic conditions. The camera also survived because it was deployed for a fixed period under the ice rather than continuously handled in the open. Rikardsen said the polar bear appeared around 4 a.m., and he then waited about eight hours before retrieving the gear. In practice, that kind of success usually relies on a sealed underwater housing, cold-tolerant batteries, and careful placement under stable sea ice. So the key technology was a motion-sensor underwater camera trap in a protective waterproof housing, not an undisclosed gadget. The ingenuity was in the setup: placing the camera at a seal’s breathing hole to capture the bear from the prey’s point of view.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 25

Oct. 13, 2026 will bring the Wildlife Photographer of the Year overall winners announcement, with the Natural History Museum opening the London exhibition three days later on Oct. 16.
One standout highly commended image, Audun Rikardsen’s “Icy Window,” shows a female polar bear peering into a seal’s breathing hole after he left a motion-sensor camera underwater and waited 8 hours to retrieve it.
The museum also highlighted commended works spanning London swifts, a Tokyo toad, an orca carrying a dead calf in Norway and tens of thousands of red-billed queleas in Kenya.
The annual competition, produced by the Natural History Museum, uses the shortlist and exhibition to showcase both technical craft and wider conservation themes from urban wildlife to marine protection.