Wildlife Photo Competition 4 2014 : Results

Judges Comment
The superbly crisp quality of this image and the fox's striking hunter’s glare make a powerful shot. The tones and colours are so complimentary, the diagonal balance of this composition so strong and the subject is just beautiful. Well done, this shot is a sure winner!
Photographers Comment
Thank you so much and for the wonderful comments as well!! This was shot with a Canon 7D using a Canon 100-400 lens. I saw this beautiful male fox resting at the corner of a parking lot in a state park in New Jersey and got out and lay down in the parking lot in front of him to be on his level. He was undisturbed, staring into the camera as I fired away. ~Jessica Kirste https://www.flickr.com/photos/orcaholic2001/
www.jessicakirste.com

Judges Comment
Here is a very original shot of a lizard on the spiky trunk of a Silk Floss tree, which resembles the scaly back of some long lost dinosaur. Well spotted and nicely framed, I think you have turned the picture on its side, adding to the dinosaur effect. Well done.
Photographers Comment
Thank you very much for the mark of excellence. This is a young, very small anole lizard on a silk floss tree. Taken at the San Diego Zoo. These guys are food for some of the animals, but many have escaped and are a fairly common site around the zoo. They have a pollinator garden where this tree is located. I was shooting a butterfly when my wife noticed this guy on a bush, then jumped onto the tree. I quickly started shooting as it moved around on the tree. I was lucky enough to capture it while it was on one of the thorns in a spot where could get it at an angle where there was some distance to the background for the nice bokeh. And as you noted, flipped it to the horizontal. Shot with a canon 6D and 100-400L.

Judges Comment
This is just charming and came very close. The gazelle is beautifully placed off centre in this minimalist composition, its presence reinforced by all that empty space around. Great timing for a cleverly taken shot.
Photographers Comment
Thanks! Took this shot of a leaping Thomson's gazelle on the Masai Mara of Kenya.
geoffgiller.com

Judges Comment
The landscape here is beautiful, as is the misty morning atmosphere, and your photograph tells a wildlife story rather than showing us an animal’s portrait which is a nice refreshing approach to this theme. Definitely a favourite this round, well done.
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the Mark of Excellence. Image was taken at sunrise in April 2014 in the "zandvoort waterleidingduinen" (Zandvoort, The Netherlands). Camera: Sony A7R with FE 24-70.
www.stefanpuetz.com

Judges Comment
Great use of space and monochrome create this original view of one of Africa’s most photogenic species. The power of this image comes from the real life wary look of the hunted. Great shot, well done.
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the Mark of Excellence. My name is Line Hårklau and I am a Norwegian photojournalist student. I shot this in the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania. The zebras were watching as a male lion were chasing a hyena. The camera I used was Canon EOS 5D Mark III, and the lens was Canon 70-200mm f/4.
www.lilleline.com

Judges Comment
Difficult snowy conditions for photography often make unusual and original pictures but all those snow flakes can make the subject a bit flat. You have managed to keep nice detail and contrast on the does but sadly the central stag is a little smudgy and we have trouble looking him in the eye. That is the only fault on this otherwise superb photo.
Photographers Comment
This herd of elk winter in the valley every year near where I live and have become somewhat accustomed to human presence during the winter time. This bull elk, surrounded by his harem, watched me warily as I made this photograph.
www.timothyfloyd.com

Judges Comment
This is a lovely composition with a beautiful palette of pastel colours. Well done.
Photographers Comment
Thank you for the Mark Of Excellence in this competition. My name is Ulrike Treude and I live in Germany. I took this photo on a warm day at the end of September this year. I used the Canon 5 DMark III with EF 135mm 2.0.

Judges Comment
The black and white makes an eery atmosphere for this fierce looking pike. I love the underwater detail of the wreck, the urchin and distant fish which all add to this original shot. Well done.
Photographers Comment
My name is Tanya Houppermans, and I took this photograph off the coast of North Carolina while diving on the USS Schurz at a depth of 105 feet. This particular barracuda was about 3 feet long, and was just hovering slightly above the wreck. I had to get as close as possible since I was using a wide angle fisheye lens, and I was afraid that the barracuda would swim away as I got close. But on the contrary, it stayed put and let me take several shots from different angles, all the while watching me. When I viewed this image later, I was disappointed with the colors, so I tried converting it to black and white in post processing using Silver Efex. I was very pleased with the mood of the image in black and white, and with just some slight cropping and sharpening, it turned out to be one of my favorite images that I've shot. Taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1, Lumix 8mm f/3.5 fisheye, Nauticam housing, dual Sea&Sea YS-D1 strobes.

Judges Comment
Here is a wonderful shot of an otter protecting its catch. The close crop works well for detail on the otter but less so for the rest, leaving the viewer a little confused. Is that snow? And is that green seaweed or something else?
Photographers Comment
Thanx once again. My name is Stefan Betz and I am from Germany. This pic was taken in the winter, so it is snow and ice and seaweed :-) Greets Stefan
www.betz-naturfoto.de

Judges Comment
This is a clever graphic composition where you have used a very wide aperture to great effect, selectively placing the focus only on snake's face. Nice work.