It’s my great honour to share that my picture “Tassut” (“Paws”) has won the main prize in the Nature Photograph of the Year contest in Finland. It was chosen as the winner of the mammal category and the overall contest among 12,000 pictures from 735 photographers. Also, my “Lynx in its Habitat” won second prize in the portfolio category. I’m not much into photography contests and I’ve participated only a few times in a couple of different ones. Being able to see all these animals in the wild already feels like a prize so big that contests are never at the top of my mind. Last year, however, I was extremely lucky with the lynxes and got pictures I never thought I’d be able to get. I knew that now, if ever, I might have a chance to succeed in some contest. Lynxes have been my main target in wildlife photography for the past few years. It all started in 2020 when I saw my first-ever lynx totally unexpectedly. Ever since, I’ve spent countless days and nights in different lynx territories, searching for any signs of the wild cat. This unbelievable encounter in spring 2024 exceeded all my expectations and my dreams literally came true. It felt like all the hard work had finally paid off on the most amazing way. The whole story of the encounter is unfortunately too long to write here. Big thanks to everyone who’s been following my lynx project over the years and to all I’ve worked together on the field. Thanks to @suomenluonnonvalokuvaajat for organizing the contest and the great event last night in Helsinki. And huge congrats to all the other awarded photographers! My lynx project will continue. Prints of the “Paws” and other of my pictures can be ordered at www.soosseli.com/prints ☺️ #wildlife #nature #animals #lynx #ilves #vuodenluontokuva #finland #suomi