The world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Natural History Museum have been selected from some 50,000 entries and the overall winners will be announced on Oct. 17, 2017. For someone who has been known to photograph nature, the results are humbling. It is hard enough to get close enough to capture wildlife, leave alone achieve a well-composed sharp image. And then there’s the other thing, emotion and empathy. We want to relate to the animal being photographed to feel as it feels.

A selection of these finalist images can be seen on the NBC News website. I’m still trying to figure out which are my favorites. But to start there is Qing Lin’s image of clownfish peeking out like so many little Nemo’s from the tentacles of an anemone. Then there’s Justin Hofman’s poignant image of a seahorse holding on to a cotton swap in the poluted seas around Sumbawa Island in Indonesia. And if you’re going to pin me down to a favorite, it’s got to be the rain-drenched Bald Eagle in Dutch Harbor, Amaknak Island, Alaska.by Klaus Nigge. The look on this rather damp eagle is all telling and for the ages. Somedays nothing goes right.l