Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Exhibition
'Power of a Matriarch' © David Lloyd. Finalist in the Animal Portraits category.
Its was that time of year again where I head to the Natural History Museum for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition. This event has become a regular staple in the exhibitions that I've attended over the last few years and this years collection of photography, once again, did not disappoint. Leading up to the event, I decided to purchase the book on the Wildlife Photographer Awards from the past 50 years. It has particular relevance as the Awards started in 1965 and I started going to this yearly event in 2015 therefore I wanted to get up to date with past exhibitions I hadn’t been to which were touched upon in this visually stunning 50 year retrospective.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition itself is painstakingly whittled down to just 100 images from over 50,000 entries from both amateur and professional photographers in a variety of categories such as Animals in their Environment, Behaviour, Plants and Fungi, Under Water, Urban Wildlife, Earth’s Environments, and Black & White amongst others. All categories are based around creativity, originality and technical excellence. Although I’m not a photographer but a professional graphic designer, I'd like to think I have a good eye for photography for the design projects I work on therefore I could appreciate the visual creativity of each image displayed. However it was the technical aspect that interested me in the way of the photographer knows what camera to use, lighting to have or produce, frame rate to use or simply what lens to use. Some of the stories behind the images touched on the technical aspect side of it which makes you realise that sometimes photography isn’t as simple as pressing the button. Especially in this exhibition as every photograph entered has to be proved that its unedited and original.
What never fails to amaze me about this exhibition is when I read the stories that go with the photographs. I have to admire the determination, patience, skills and in some cases the shear luck in which all these elements seem to combine to get the perfect unedited image of the photographers subject matter. With a number of the photographs there are stories where the photographer has pitched up somewhere for days to capture certain wildlife. One the other end of the scale I’ve read that some photographers react within the moment, unaware that what they’ve captured is a spectacular and rare piece of wildlife behaviour. Either way you cannot ignore the talent these photographers have wether it be raw talent of the young photographers or the adults who truly are masters of their craft.
'Anticipation' ©Marco Urso. Finalist in the Behaviour: Mammals category.
Each time I’ve seen these exhibitions I really struggle to pick a favourite but the one that stood out to me this time is an image that was in the ‘Behaviour: Mammals’ category by Marco Urso. The caption states “The anticipation of the brown bear cubs was palpable as their mother fished in Lake Kuril. As soon as she emerged grasping a plump sockeye salmon, they ran towards her, eager to claim their supper. As Marco took the photograph, the mother glanced towards him, her look of maternal protection clear to see.” Its that split second of the mother bear looking at the camera that shifts the power of the image. Yes, like the other images it is perfectly captured but this image stood out to me as it had so much more depth to it by showing the two thought processes of the bears.
They say a picture says a thousand words and the overall winning image by Brent Stirton certainly did. It was an upsetting and brutal image of an dead and endangered black rhino that had been killed and multilated for its horn. It was a morbid ending to the exhibition as the photography throughout was alive with colourful, sometimes fun and generally positive imagery. What made this image stand out was that it shows how we ignore certain wildlife issues in an out of sight, out of mind way. The image had a feeling of being brought down to earth with a huge reality check. Chair of the Jury Lewis Blackwell describes "There is a horrible intimacy to the photograph: it draws us in and invites us to explore our response and responsibility." Its this notion that makes this image a very worthy winner.
'Memorial to a Species' ©Brent Stirton. Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017, Grand title winner.
Although Marco Urso’s image was my personal favourite I’m sure you’ll have just as much trouble picking your favourite out of all the displayed finalist entries as I did. You can check them all out on the Natural History Museum: Wildlife Photographer of the Year website, but I would recommend visiting the exhibition in the atmosphere and surroundings of the Natural History Museum before it closes in May.