Bbc Wpty Official Response

[Ken Watkins]

A friend of mine has received an official response from the organisers of the competition.

He asked for permission to publish it in another forum, and has asked me to not publish it in full elsewhere.

Here is the link, it is on page 4 posted by John Milbank

http://safaritalk.net/index.php?showtopic=2952&st=60&start=60

What do you think as to the explanation provided?

[john crookes]

Exactly as steve himself explained and it holds water as Steve put every bit of effort and thought into his photos as anyone would into any type of photo taken by the eye

[Gerald Kelberg]

I would prefer that the winning image for this contest was captured by a photographer actually choosing the moment, rather than having the moment chosen by events with a camera trap. It is, after all, the Wildlife PHOTOGRAPHER of the Year award, not the Wildlife IMAGE of the Year.

But it seems to me that the judges reverse this distinction and judge the latter. As all the top contenders are producing such outstanding work, the environmental sensitivity of the subject seems to become more important than creativity or technical skill - arguably as this gives the image more impact. It becomes environmental politics.

This isn't to diminish the work, commitment or skill Steve Winter has put into achieving the image, but to suggest that the notions of the judges are different from mine. Perhaps there is an argument for acknowleding the difference between images created using a "trap" and those taken by "hand" with different categories in the contest.

[Cliff Beittel]

I would prefer that the winning image for this contest was captured by a photographer actually choosing the moment, rather than having the moment chosen by events with a camera trap. It is, after all, the Wildlife PHOTOGRAPHER of the Year award, not the Wildlife IMAGE of the Year.

But it seems to me that the judges reverse this distinction and judge the latter. . . .
Gerald,

Despite the name, WPOTY has always been about a single image, not a portfolio or career. This year's winning image is no exception in that regard. Contests aren't always named correctly (example: baseball's "World Series" no such thing, being contested only by MLB-affiliated teams from the U.S. and Canada).