Lee-Ann Robertson’s photograph of a lioness with a wildebeest in her jaws, titled ’Juxtaposition’, has won The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year 2019 award.

Robertson was chosen from ten finalists and judged by acclaimed wildlife photographers Art Wolfe, Adam Bannister, Michael Poliza, Nisha Purushothaman and Federico Veronesi.

She was awarded a grand prize of $10 000 and a five-night safari for two at Angama Mara, with return flights from Nairobi. Her guide, Joseph Njapit of the Zebra Plains Mara Camp, won an all-expenses-paid trip to the UK to watch Premier League football, together with guides Daudi Ledukan of Naibor Camp and Leshan Sayialel of Talek Bush Camp.

The competition ran from January to October and received close to a thousand entries. “What really set 2019 apart from the previous year was the series of ten exhibitions that took place in key cities around the world, showcasing the Mara and the work of its community of photographers to a much wider audience,” says Steve Mitchell, Co-founder of Angama Mara.

Each entry includes a donation to one of the competition’s conservation partners active in the Maasai Mara. With the support of the entry fees this year and the success of these exhibitions, the Angama Foundation handed out more than $83 000 to the Anne K. Taylor Fund, the Maa Trust, the Mara Elephant Project, the Mara Conservancy and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Angama Mara has high hopes for the entries in 2020. “We expect entries to continue to demonstrate that the Maasai Mara is truly a year-round wildlife destination, with images that demonstrate technical skills and creativity while also evoking an emotional response,” Mitchell says.

Entries for 2020 open on January 1.