A WILDLIFE enthusiast has claimed the top prize in a photography competition with this picture of a dolphin riding a wave off the coast of the North of Ireland.
George Karbus, from Co. Clare, has just won the British Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and collects £5,000 for the winning photograph, which was taken at Ballintoy, County Antrim.
To capture the stunning image, called the Living Room, Karbus had to swim in the surf with the water-borne mammal to capture the dophin's eye view shot.
"Each time the dolphin got into the wave, I dived underneath, held my breath and waited for the moment when he would swish through a silver barrel close enough to my lens, " said Mr Karbus.
"Water visibility is always very limited in Ireland and I was very lucky to get a shot like this," he added.
The annual British Wildlife Photography Awards are one of the most prestigious photography awards in Britain.
The awards were established to recognise the talents of wildlife photographers working in Britain and to highlight the diversity of Britain's natural history as well as the need for its protection.
