Plates 33-40 This is the thirteenth annual selection of contemporary photography, keeping on permanent record some of the finest current work. More photographs were submitted than ever before and the 14 reproduced on plates 33-40 are selected from a total of 137. It is encouraging to know that there are still so many photographers who have not gone over entirely to colour, but we hope the day will come when we shall be able to illustrate this feature largely with colour plates. Unfortunately the present cost of reproduction makes this impossible, but with a sufficiently increased circulation there is no reason why it could not be achieved in the future. It is gratifying that more photographers are sending their prints direct to us, but even so we are greatly indebted to the honorary secretaries of the Zoological Photographic Club, the Nature Photographic Society and the Nature Photographers' Portfolio for their continued interest and advice. In this connection an interesting development in British photography in 1971 was the formation by these three societies of the Association of Natural History Photographic Societies (see 'News and comment', April 1972). As in the past, the task of selection was far from easy, the standard being particularly high this year; inevitably a number of photographs we would have liked to reproduce have had to be omitted. But there are two which, to me, stand head and shoulders above all the rest: indeed, I would go so far as to say that they are the best