The Leopard Seal is the most perfect animal a photographer could wish for – it is a performer and will continue to give a show hour after hour. As a photographer, you do not need to do anything except for push the shutter release. If you are fortunate enough to have a Leopard Seal bring you a penguin, stay with it, as the Lep will usually stay only a few meters away, and will come back. However, DO NOT touch the penguin or get too close to the seal. The penguin is its prey and it will feel threatened if it is taken away. Let the seal come to you.
Check out the following film and see Goran in action while filming a Leopard Seal playing with a penguin:

Listen to Göran's interview on Animal Planet where he talks about his experiences during film- and photography assignments for the BBC and National Geographic, about diving with Leopard Seals and Emperor Penguins and the Polar Wilderness.

With our film 'Facing Reality' we like to share with you some amazing footage on leopard seals and the underwater world of Antarctica and the Arctic. Make sure your sound is on ! Also available as DVD.

BBC News 19 October 2006

A picture that took nine years to obtain and was almost deleted at the last minute has won the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

Göran Ehlme's shot of a walrus feeding on clams on the sea floor is a whirl of grey; the animal's face is seen poking through a cloud of disturbed sediment.
He caught the magic moment on a digital camera and deleted many unwanted shots.

"My finger was poised to delete this one too, and then I noticed something special," he told the BBC News website.

The competition has become one of the most prestigious in world photography.
It is organised by BBC Wildlife Magazine and London's Natural History Museum. This year brought more than 18,000 entries from 55 countries.

Göran is a highly experienced natural history filmmaker. His work has featured in the BBC's Blue Planet and Planet Earth series, and on National Geographic TV.
The Swede has spent almost a decade getting to know the behaviour of the walrus and how to get close to the mammal without being attacked.
Weighing 1.5 tonnes, these beasts can be extremely dangerous if they feel threatened, and their big tusks have been known to kill even the great Arctic predator, the polar bear.

"It was while the walrus had gone to the surface for air. Underwater, with a mask on, with a housing around the camera, it was really hard to see the little screen; but I suddenly thought 'wow!, there's his head in the cloud'. "It looked really great."

The judges certainly thought the image was very powerful.
"It's got everything, the feel of the picture is interesting, your attention goes straight to the eye. A very simple graphic image showing interesting behaviour," said chairman of the judges, Mark Carwardine.

Judge Andy Mclane added: "You get a real sense that you're seeing something you've never seen before. Epic. You could spend years trying to get this shot."

Göran and Paul travelled to Antarctica for a National Geographic magazine to photograph Leopard seals.
With the amazing sequence of images Paul took on this trip he wins for the second time top honors in the World Press Photo contest 2007 in the nature category for his photo “Leopard Seal Hunt, Antarctica.”

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