Bird Photo Competition 5 2017 : Results
- Competition Winner : First Prize
- $694.40
- Judges Comment
- A clear winner this time is this combination of a predation action shot with a rustic 'still life' setting. When we see images like this one nowadays, we often wonder to what extent they were 'captured' or 'made'. Was the table set up outdoors or in a barn and the whole scene simply 'snapped' after days of patient waiting? Was the mouse deliberately used as bait to increase the odds? Was the mouse actually not endangered because the owl was 'Photoshopped' in afterwards? Did any of this actually 'happen' or was it all just 'created'? By looking at the end result, it's impossible to tell. Increasingly, many would argue that it doesn't matter if the finished result has sufficient merit, i.e. evokes the right response from the viewer. In any case, I'd say this image is the result of a huge amount of work by the photographer and stands out from the vast body of well-worn imagery with which we've become all too familiar.
- Photographers Comment
- Mario Cea: Thank you very much for this new award in your fantastic contest. The image is the result of a lot of field work because the Barn owl is completely wild. He also has a lot of photographic work, especially of illumination of the scene. The entire stage was set inside an abandoned barn where a scene that had been in the head for a long time was recreated ..... "a person had dined and the crumbs he left behind will be the dinner of a mouse that will be the dinner of the barn owl " There is no photoshop in any part of the image and the mouse is dead and placed in a natural positionand it was bought in a store specializing in pet food (frozen food for reptiles). To achieve this image almost two years of work were necessary. Thank you so much again.
- www.mariocea.net
- Mark Of Excellence
- Judges Comment
- A vivid arrangement of flamingos appearing to 'face off' to each other against a studio-style backdrop
- Mark Of Excellence
- Judges Comment
- It's hard to imagine a more atmospheric setting for this environmental shot of a diver (loon)
- Photographers Comment
- Photographer: Dag Røttereng Camera: Nikon D800 Location: Municipality of Meldal in Central Norway. A red-throated diver and chick swims in a small pond in morning mist at sunrise. I had placed a hide by the pond early that summer, and followed the divers as they raised their chick. This early morning was very special, when the sunbeams cut through the fog.
- https://www.facebook.com/PhotographerDagRottereng
- Mark Of Excellence
- Judges Comment
- The reflections of the silhouetted heron and vegetation form exquisite shapes on the warm apricot canvas
- Photographers Comment
- Name: Eric Frommer Location: Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge Sanibel Island FL Camera: Olympus Omd em1 Mark ll with 300mm F4. Post Processing: Tinted the background a little and took away the details to enhance the silhouette effect.
- www.ericfrommerphotography.com
- Mark Of Excellence
- Judges Comment
- I like the way this Bullfinch has been 'hidden in plain sight' amidst the similarly-coloured setting
- Mark Of Excellence
- Judges Comment
- An ordinary Puffin shot made extraordinary by the juxtaposition of a defocused Shag
- Mark Of Excellence
- Judges Comment
- Great colours, timing and composition elevate this Mallard flight shot
- Mark Of Excellence
- Judges Comment
- An unusual capture of a corvid being mobbed, but giving the impression of being ridden
- Mark Of Excellence
- Judges Comment
- A cleverly-observed grid composition featuring variously posed 'cormorants in boxes'