Passion for snow leopards shines through lens

Since deciding to focus on capturing wildlife on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, particularly the elusive snow leopard, amateur photographer Luo Xiaoyun has evolved into the "best snow leopard photographer in the world" in just a few years.

The praise comes from China's most renowned wildlife photographer, Xi Zhinong. As a judge for the 2021 China Wildlife Image and Video Competition, Xi endorsed one of Luo's stunning snow leopard photos, which won in the competition's mammal category.

It was not the first time that the photographer had won awards for his photos of snow leopards, a species under first-class national protection in China and listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. During his debut at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in 2021, two of Luo's photos clinched awards in the prestigious international wildlife photography event.

"The pictures provided a fresh portrait of the snow leopard and the dark and light of its mountain-top world," Rosamund Kidman Cox, who was editor of Wildlife Magazine (subsequently BBC Wildlife Magazine) for 24 years and has been a Wildlife Photographer of the Year judge since 1981, wrote on her foreword to Luo's photo album.

The album, published last year, has a collection of his excellent photos on wildlife on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, including more than 100 snow leopards. "Luo Xiaoyun, his superb photographs and new information about the life of snow leopards raise our knowledge about the species to a unique new and high level," wrote Luo's idol and renowned wildlife biologist and conservationist George Schaller.