Finalist, wildlife: Henley Spiers

In early autumn, vast sardine shoals surround the rocks at Los Islotes. This bounty attracts seabird predators. As we dived amid the shoal, the peace was occasionally shattered by the loud crashes of pelicans, cormorants and boobies hurtling under water in pursuit of a meal. Most of the time, the action is so swift that by the time you turn to see it, the bird is already back at the surface. I finally captured the elusive shot of a blue-footed booby rising up with a sardine in its beak. Los Islotes, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Photograph: Henley Spiers