Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 - Announced

[Steve Kaluski]

Well, the time has come and the winners have now been announced.:bg3: Hope the link works.

Great to see Peter Delaney winning again and there are probably more winners some of you know too, likewise for Morkel & I, on a personal note, Wim van den Heever

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/categoryGroup.do?group=4

[Paul Whitbread]

Congrats to Peter and Wim (and any of the others who might read this). Not sure I'm entirely taken with the winning photo...

[John Guastella]

Not sure I'm entirely taken with the winning photo...

+1. No offense to the photographer, but the winning image doesn't seem like anything special to me either. In fact, I'll go one step further and suggest that the Young Wildlife Photographer winning image (baby gharials on their mother's head) is a superior image in every way and should have won the Grand Prize.

I'm curious to know who the judges are for this competition.

John

[LinzRiverBalmer]

congrats and thanks for posting, I didn't know this competition existed, so will keep an eye on it. The young winner with the head full of babies is extremely well done.

[Paul Whitbread]

+1. No offense to the photographer, but the winning image doesn't seem like anything special to me either. In fact, I'll go one step further and suggest that the Young Wildlife Photographer winning image (baby gharials on their mother's head) is a superior image in every way and should have won the Grand Prize.

I'm curious to know who the judges are for this competition.

John
It was hidden away on the website, but here are the judges (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy/enter/judges.jsp); fifteen made up of mostly photographers but a few from magazines or image agencies.

As a competition, it does have a penchant for images that are either a bit 'outside the box' or come with a strong message (two years ago it was won by oil covered pelicans). While the gharials photo is a fun moment and it is is technically well executed, it does lack the sort of 'unusualness' that they favour.

[Paul Whitbread]

congrats and thanks for posting, I didn't know this competition existed, so will keep an eye on it. The young winner with the head full of babies is extremely well done.
I can't speak for its international reputation, but from a UK perspective I've seen it described more than once as a the Oscars for Wildlife Photographers. It's definitely the one Brits are mostly likely to want to win.

[David Stephens]

Some great images, but the site is a pain in the butt, requiring multi-clicks to go from image to image. The preview icons are too small for a decent preview.

[Marina Scarr]

Thank you for the link, Steve, and to Paul for the list of impressive judges. I don't like the site either, but it's worth a look for the very impressive images. Huge congrats to our very own Peter Delaney!!!

[Morkel Erasmus]

Congrats to all!! This is definitely one of the (if not THE) big one to win for wildlife photographers.
Some great images in the mix...and the usual head-scratchers but that is the nature of judged photography competitions - art is subjective.

Personally, the winning image has definitely grown on me a lot since it's been revealed. Greg du Toit is an amazing photographer and probably THE South African wildlife photographer that most of the local fraternity were hoping would win - for his humble nature, his absolute dedication to his craft (he once spent weeks in a waterhole in East Africa to document free-roaming lions and contracted bilharzia and malaria and almost died), and his penchant to keep pushing the photographic envelope and shoot outside the moulds that are often imposed by camera clubs and online forums. I can't think of a more deserving winner personally...

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Congratulations Peter!

Jasper Doest is the winner of Creative Visions category with his snow monkey image. I liked it a lot.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel IMHO it's a real mixed bag this year, some real 'corkers' & some rather 'pedestrian' images. However, in light of a conversation I recently had, I would agree that something like Snow moments is what it's all about, in terms of lady luck, good techs, being there at the right moment, understanding the location/subject, creating something different etc, etc. I do hope people get to see the traveling show later, as it does the images more justice, but more importantly, the photographers who put the time in to achieve the shots. :S3:

[Morkel Erasmus]

Well said, Steve.
My personal favourite images from this year's awards are Jasper Doest's monkey (wow!) and Paul Souders' polar bear...:t3

[Steve Kaluski]

Yep, the Polar bear is a good one, but then I think in the last month we have been spoilt with some exceptional ones posted here too!

Twelve months is not long to wait to see if our judgement is right. :bg3:

[arash_hazeghi]

congrats to all the winners, it's a mixed bag but the sparrowhawk attack image is my fav. in birds category.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Yep, the Polar bear is a good one, but then I think in the last month we have been spoilt with some exceptional ones posted here too!

Twelve months is not long to wait to see if our judgement is right. :bg3:

Indeed, not that many "moons" to go :w3

[Bill Jobes]

Congrats to all!! This is definitely one of the (if not THE) big one to win for wildlife photographers.
Some great images in the mix...and the usual head-scratchers but that is the nature of judged photography competitions - art is subjective.

Personally, the winning image has definitely grown on me a lot since it's been revealed. Greg du Toit is an amazing photographer and probably THE South African wildlife photographer that most of the local fraternity were hoping would win - for his humble nature, his absolute dedication to his craft (he once spent weeks in a waterhole in East Africa to document free-roaming lions and contracted bilharzia and malaria and almost died), and his penchant to keep pushing the photographic envelope and shoot outside the moulds that are often imposed by camera clubs and online forums. I can't think of a more deserving winner personally...

Well-said, Morkel. Reading your perspective on Greg and his dedication to the craft totally opened me to the abstract beauty of the photograph.

[Hilary Hann]

Congrats to all!! This is definitely one of the (if not THE) big one to win for wildlife photographers.
Some great images in the mix...and the usual head-scratchers but that is the nature of judged photography competitions - art is subjective.

Personally, the winning image has definitely grown on me a lot since it's been revealed. Greg du Toit is an amazing photographer and probably THE South African wildlife photographer that most of the local fraternity were hoping would win - for his humble nature, his absolute dedication to his craft (he once spent weeks in a waterhole in East Africa to document free-roaming lions and contracted bilharzia and malaria and almost died), and his penchant to keep pushing the photographic envelope and shoot outside the moulds that are often imposed by camera clubs and online forums. I can't think of a more deserving winner personally...

Couldn't say it better myself! Greg's work has always been an inspiration and I couldn't have been happier when I heard he had won. I love his image, it tells so many stories within stories, even down to the soulful colour which mirrors the desperate situation elephants find themselves in. It would be a little odd if every image resonated with every viewer.