Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition 2009
Fresh from its launch at the Natural History Museum!Animal activities, creative portraits, skilful hunters and vistas from the furthest corners of our world will be captured in this photographic exhibition of the world’s most striking natural moments. The Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition (organised by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine and sponsored by Shell) is the largest and most prestigious event of its kind in the world. Yet again, this year’s event has been the most competitive in the competition’s 44-year history; the judges scrutinised a record 32,351 entries from 82 countries for their composition and originality to find the winning shot. The exhibition will include 85 winning and commended images from 16 varied categories.
The exhibition showcases the very best photographic images of nature to a worldwide audience, displaying the splendour, drama and variety of life on Earth and inspiring people to care for its future. Each picture is captioned to reveal how and why it was taken. For many photographers, highlighting the richness and dynamic essence of wildlife is just as important as capturing a special moment with perfect composition and timing. The competition also aims to show the artistry involved in wildlife photography and encourage a new generation of photographers to produce visionary and evocative interpretations of nature.
American photographer Steve Winter won the overall competition for his night-time image of a snow leopard enduring a snow storm. To get his winning shot, Steve spent ten months camping and tracking in remote areas of northern India, where temperatures were as low as -40°C. As Steve said, “there are only a few thousand of these animals left in the wild. I was thrilled to have finally captured the shot I had dreamed of – a wild snow leopard in its true element.”
British teenager Catriona Parfitt took the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year title for her image showing a lion launching a risky attack on an adult giraffe. Competition judge Rosamund Kidman Cox described the image as “Quite simply an astonishing shot. Stage, action, story and onlookers combine to make an unforgettable scene.”
Mark Carwardine said “The judges spend weeks in a darkened room, looking at thousands of beautiful images, but the final exhibition photographs have a creativity, originality and sheer drama that set them apart. The competition plays an increasingly crucial role in raising the profile of wildlife photography and generating awareness of conservation. Nothing speaks louder than an evocative photograph that stirs the imagination, tugs at the heart strings and engages the mind.”
The exhibition runs from 27 January – 8 March at Nature in Art, Wallsworth Hall, Twigworth, Gloucester GL2 9PA
Explore Gloucestershire
9 January 2009
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