Taken with a Sony A7RV and 90mm macro lens, this extraordinary photo captures a lizard’s first breath

A close-up photograph shows the bright green head of a hatching snake emerging from a small slit in its speckled, off-white egg, set against a black background.

The winners of the 2025 British Photography Awards (BPA) have been announced, and one image captures a moment so fleeting, so intimate, that it seems almost miraculous the photographer was there to witness it at all. The photograph shows a Sakishima Grass Lizard taking its very first breath as it breaks through its egg, and it was shortlisted in the Macro category.

First Breath, by wildlife photographer Jamie Peters, reveals the exact instant a tiny reptile pierces its shell and meets the world. The lizard's delicate green scales glow against the speckled cream egg, and if you look closely, you can see the egg tooth; that small triangular structure on the upper lip that exists for this single purpose and will soon fall away.