by OLIVER STALLWOOD

Last updated at 11:43 19 October 2006

From the sky, it looks just like a giant oak tree lying on its side.

Gallery: Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year

But this fascinating image is partly down to nature and partly made by man.

The remarkable shape of trunk, branches and foliage was created by a combination of storm damage and scars left on the landscape by forestry machinery used to retrieve logs.

Swedish photographer Jocke Bergland took the shot while flying over Sweden documenting damage in the wake of Hurricane Gudrun in January last year.

The image, entitled Hurricane Tree, won him The World In Our Hands prize at the Shell Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition.

The overall winner was Beast Of The Sediment. The photograph of a feeding walrus was taken by Gîran Ehlmé of Sweden. It captures the creature whipping up sediment as it gorges on bivalve shells.

"It's got everything, our attention goes straight to the eye," said judge Mark Carwardine. "A simple graphic image showing interesting behaviour."

Mr Ehlm´, an underwater cameraman with 24 years of diving experience, described the moment he took the picture. "The walrus looked round and we made eye contact," he said.

The competition, run by the Natural History Museum in London and BBC Wildlife Magazine, received more than 18,000 entries from 55 countries.

The winning images will go on show at the museum from Saturday.