Yesterday I visited the 2011 Wildlife Photographer of the year Award exhibition at the Usher Gallery in Lincoln. I spend a great deal of my time involved in wildlife and landscape photography and like to think that I am not bad at it but I came away feeling not only inspired but totally humbled. The standard of the winning images, runners up and those that were highly recommended was staggeringly high. Although the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award one section is entitled Wildscapes and is essentially a landscape section and is for
photographs that convey a beautiful sense of light, a true feeling of wilderness and a sense of awe. They certainly achieved that and I examined them with interest.
The winning image by Stephane Vetter of France is entitled Celestial Arch.It was taken in Switzerland and involved a two hour walk in -15 deg. C temperatures to reach the chosen location. He took 24 photographs which he then stitched together to form this panorama. The arch of light is actually the Milky Way and he composed the image so that the curve in the land mirrors that of the milky way. I like the way trees frame the picture on either side and I particularly like the ethereal mist below him. I really like all the winners in this category but two that particularly move me are In the Valley of Giants by Denis Budkov and Moonlight Over Aloba by Marsel Van Oosten.
In the Valley of Giants was photographed on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula where the photographer lives. It depicts the eruption of Kljuchevsky, the highest active volcano in Eurasia. It continued to belch fire for a year. I love the overall blue colour of dusk with the contrasting red of the molten lava. I especially like the way the mountains are wreathed in and capped with cloud and the lenticular cloud above the peaks is a stunning bonus.
Moonlight over Aloba on the Ennedi Plateau in northeastern Chad, is one of the most magnificent rock arches in the world.He wanted to photograph the arch in a way that would create 'a feeling of awe and wonder,' choosing a night shoot, with enough moonlight for a light sour ce but not so much that the stars wouldn't be visible. 'The clear night sky,' says Marsel, 'made this wild place look almost otherworldly.' I love the contrasting orange and blue colours and the way he has caught the myriads of stars as pinpoints of light. I am always incredibly moved when I look at a clear star studded night sky; I always wonder with awe what is out there, not believing that space can go on for ever but if not what is beyond it. This photograph engenders those emotions.I like the way that the trees in the foreground set the context and give us an impression of the size of the arch.
Other categories in the competition also included images which I feel are also landscapes. The section In Praise of Plants and Fungi is one such and I feel that all winners and highly commended photographs could be regarded as landscapes. I especially liked the image of a Tongue orchid by Sandra Bartocha from Germany.
The picture was taken on the slopes of Monte Sacro in the Gargano National Park in Italy. The beautiful soft lighting is purely that of the setting sun. The compostion of the photograph I find pleasing. The tongue orchid an a third line dominates but takes nothing away from the smaller hares tail grasses.
This image by Daniel Jara from Spain taken in the Patagonia's Los Glaciares National Park, Tierra del Fuego. The streaks of the blizzarding snow give the picture an almost painterly feel to it. I was taken by the grey of the dead tree dominating the photograph on a third line contrasting with the autumnal colours of the trees behind.
Other sections also contained landscape images, one being Ocean Abstraction by Lauraence Norton of the USA from the Creative Visions section.
The picture was taken in Hawaii using a long lens to compress the waves. A slow shutter speed of 0.6 seconds to provide motion blur. Again I love the clours in the photography and was taken by it as I have short-listed some wave images at Flamborough Head for my second assignment. I used a fast shutter speed for my shots in order to freeze the waves but having seen this image I shall certainly try the technique in the future.
Forest Fox taken by Klaus Echle in the Black Forest near his home is highly recommended in the Animals in their Environment section. Here we have a beautifully misty woodland shot taken from a very low angle. The fox is small in the frame and certainly not a portrait so providing a landscape feel.
I have picked out a few of my favourite landscape images from the competition but I foun all of the pure wildlife images inspirational but there are far too many to itemise here. Perhaps my favourite is The Assassin from the birds behaviour section.
It was taken by Steve Mills of the UK on the Yorkshire Moors. It features a merlin having just taken a snipe during the cold weather of 2010. It would be easy to say 'the right place at the right time', but how many hours had he put in to have this lucky brake. From my own experience I know it would be many!! I love the way the raptor glares at the photographer briefly before dispatching and then devouring its prey. I like the negative space Steve has put in front of the bird for it to 'move into'.
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