Wildlife Photography Oscars
Every year a select panel of judges meet at London's Natural History Museum to select just 100 photographs to represent planet earth. These photographs form an exhibition that travels the world and which is seen by millions of people. The competition is known affectionately as the WPY (Wildlife Photographer Of The Year) and is quite simply the Oscars of world wildlife photography. I am fortunate enough to have won the overall competition and was named the 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013'. All the below images have been awarded in the competition over the years and in various categories.
River Crossing - This artistic rendition of the wildebeest crossing the Mara River placed in the 2009 edition of the competition, in the black and white category. Here you see a wildebeest leading the charge and jumping into the turbid water, while the rest of the herd follows.
Golden Rhino Forest - A black rhino feeds on a fallen Acacia tree deep inside a forest (secret location in Kenya). This photograph won me a Gerald Durrell award in the endangered category of the 2010 edition of the competition.
Essence of Elephants - This photograph won me the most prestigious title in world wildlife photography when I was named the 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013'. A slow shutter speed, polariser, cool white balance, wide angle lens, rear curtain flash and a very obliging baby elephant, that ran past the front of my camera, all helped to create this mysterious and moody portrayal of elephants.
Twilight Pelicans - My car broke down, most fortuitously, on the shore of Kenya's Lake Nakuru. As it got dark the pelicans came home to roost. Using a very slow shutter speed and a flash, I created this ghostly portrait which was one of just a handful of images selected in the 'Birds Category' of the 2014 edition of the competition.
Fleeing the Flames - In Tanzania's Serengeti National Park a wildebeest with a broken leg faces a raging grass fire. It was tough to watch but also impossible to leave. Focusing in the low light was nearly impossible! This photograph was selected in the most competitive category of all, the mammals category, in 2014. The wildebeest survived, narrowly escaping with its life.
Wild Dog Pack - This pack of wild dog killed an impala antelope right where we were camped, in Mana Pool's Chitake Springs, and it won me a place in the 2017 Black and White category of the competition.
Behind the Veil - This abstract portrait of a lioness in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve won a place in the portrait category of the 2020 competition. This photo is currently on display in London's Natural History Museum and will tour the world as a part of a traveling WPY 56 exhibition.
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