Penguins, ice and light... the beauty of nature captured on camera by the world's greatest wildlife photographers

Stare at the beautiful sight of African elephants at twilight, and witness the split second before a grizzly bear shuts his jaws on a sockeye salmon.

Or study a western lowland gorilla walk through a cloud of butterflies she has disturbed, and see a greater bulldog bat's reflection as it catches a fish.

These extraordinary images feature in a new book bringing together the work of ten of the world’s greatest wildlife photographers for the first time.

Underwater: Penguins, Ice and Light by David Doubile is one of the most extraordinary images featuring in a book called The Masters of Nature Photography

Red on white: Ice Formation is by Pal Hermansen, a photographer who is a specialist in the use of light and dark, and featured in the new Natural History Museum book

To the surface: Featured in the book is Antarctica Expedition - Climate Reality by Paul Nicklen, who has become known for his pioneering underwater photography

Mane image: Horse Spirit by Jim Brandenburgh is in a new book book bringing together the work of ten of the world's greatest wildlife photographers for the first time

Birds at play: Dancing Cranes by Vincent Munier. The photographers are all past winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

The Masters of Nature Photography features the artistry of Jim Brandenburg to the underwater images by David Doubilet and Paul Nicklen.

The book also includes Pål Hermansen’s use of light and dark, the viewpoints of Frans Lanting and Anup Shah’s intimate portraits.

In addition there are the visual statements of Michael Nichols, Thomas Mangelsen’s landscapes and Christian Ziegler’s images of wild behaviour.

Each photographer has a biography along with a portfolio of the ten images that they consider is most representative of their work.

It's lunchtime: Catch of the Day by Thomas Mangelsen shows the split second before a grizzly bear shuts his jaws on a sockeye salmon

Pretty pink: African Elephants at Twilight by Frans Lanting is an astonishing photograph taken at Chobe National Park in northern Botswana

Splash: Perfect Trawl is a beautiful photograph by Chris Ziegler, showing a greater bulldog bat - also known as noctilio leporinus - catching a fish

Flying around: Anup Shah's photograph shows a western lowland gorilla walking through a cloud of butterflies she has disturbed in the Central African Republic

Visual statement: Whiskey by Michael Nichols is one of many photographs featured in The Masters of Nature Photography, which will be published on September 19

For every photographer there is a brief biography defining the essence of their art and what drives and inspires them.

The photographers are all past winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is now in its 49th year.

The Masters of Nature Photography will be published by the Natural History Museum of South Kensington, central London, on September 19.

A collection of some of the best pictures from past years of the competition is featured in Wild Planet, also published by the museum.