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British Ecological Society photography competition 2022 announces winners

A close-up of pink-tipped daisy petals, a terrestrial hermit crab using a plastic bottle cap as its new home and a steenbok’s desperate battle for survival were among the winning and highly commended images in the individual categories.

Roberto Garcia Roa, a conservation photographer and evolutionary biologist, took the winning photo of a tree frog and spoke about the threats the animal faces.

“This image reveals the beauty of nature hidden in Tambopata, (Peru), a region that is currently threatened by gold mining,” he said in a news release. “It is paradoxical to see the eyes of this frog as small golden pearls, because in reality, the true treasure lies in ensuring the protection of this area and its inhabitants.”

All the winning and highly commended images “celebrate the diversity of ecology, capturing flora and fauna from across the globe,” the news release said.

The photographs display each of nature’s many faces — some photos are tranquil, some restless, some wild, some entangled with the human world.

“Locking eyes with this year’s winning image, I’m impressed by how it captures in such exquisite detail the sometimes-otherworldly beauty of life on Earth,” Yadvinder Malhi, president of the British Ecological Society, said in the news release.

“Altogether, these photographs display the incredible breadth and beauty of biodiversity. The winners have done an excellent job of capturing ecology in intriguing and thoughtful ways, presenting a powerful reminder of the many joys and intricacies of nature.”

A selection of the winning and highly commended images can be viewed in the gallery above.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2022 shortlisted images

(CNN) — A playful polar bear cub, two nuzzling red foxes and golden snub-nosed monkeys huddled together are among the shortlisted images for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2022.

The pictures “spotlight important stories of nature from across the globe” and were chosen from 38,575 entries across 93 countries, according to a news release from London’s Natural History Museum, which runs the annual competition.

Through powerful photography, the museum hopes to inspire people to engage with nature and help to protect the planet.

Some photos in the shortlist highlight the threats to wildlife, such as one taken by Eladio Fernandez of fishermen in the Dominican Republic catching endangered glass eels during the night.

Another of golden snub-nosed monkeys huddling together in extreme winter cold in China raises awareness of the endangered species threatened by deforestation.

Dutch photographer Auke-Florian Hiemstra was shortlisted for his image showing a fish trapped in a discarded rubber glove, found in the canals of Leiden.

“The photo confronts us with our throw-away society,” Hiemstra told CNN on Wednesday. “I would like to dedicate this photo to all our clean-up volunteers and litter pickers worldwide, who try to prevent the impact of plastic on our wildlife.”

“Humanity is addicted to plastic, but animals have to face the consequences,” he added. “Hopefully, the image makes people think about their own behavior.”

Members of the public can vote for their favorite of the 25 images using interactive screens at an exhibition at the museum. The top five will be displayed online, alongside category winners from the competition that were chosen by judges and announced earlier this year.

“Voters will have a challenge to choose from this stunning range of photographs which tell vital stories and connect people to issues across the planet,” said Douglas Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, in the news release.

Voting is open until February 2 and the winner will be part of an exhibition that closes on July 2.

I’ve discovered how to have a luxury holiday without the guilt

One minute you’re at Inverlochy Castle, guzzling fizz beneath crystal chandeliers and eating dishes devised by Michel Roux Jr on furniture gifted by the former king of Norway. The next, you’re e-biking into a soggy smirr, trying to work out where Ben Nevis has gone. Yes, this was a trip of contrasts, but – surprisingly – no compromises.

Five-star travel can come with a high price tag, for both you and the environment, so for some time I’d wondered whether I could have a luxurious holiday without totally blowing my carbon budget. Scotland seemed an obvious choice if I was going to put my plan into action: in 2021, VisitScotland became the world’s first national tourist board to sign up to the Tourism Declares climate initiative, and the country is gunning for net-zero by 2045.

Furthermore, my tailor-made, carefully thought-out small-group trip, organised by Wilderness Scotland, would combine castle stays and gourmet dinners as well as activities designed to connect with nature; it would also have an accurate carbon score, worked out via the company’s robust labelling scheme, with the impact offset via carbon mitigation projects.

My mission began aboard the Caledonian Sleeper. I didn’t sleep much, but didn’t care, happily cocooned in my cabin, snug and eco-smug as half of Britain slipped by outside. We rolled into Perth and, soon after, into Murrayshall Hotel. This baronial stone pile, dating to 1664, emerged beyond towering trees and golf tees in the mist-hung November dawn.

The 10 best compact cameras, according to National Geographic

The OM System (aka Olympus cameras) just released the flagship OM-1 camera, a major upgrade from the beloved Olympus E-M1 series.

The OM-1 has a similar layout to the E-M1 series but it packs a super fast stacked sensor for high-speed stills shooting at up to 10 FPS mechanical and a blazing 120 FPS electronic. An updated sensor brings better low light performance and subject detection autofocus algorithms that can detect cars, planes, animals, and humans.

This model also has hand-held high-res shooting (you can take 50 MP images out of a burst of 16 frames) and the Live-ND filter, which simulates a neutral-density filter. In addition, computational photography for handheld shooting emulates some tripod-based long exposure shooting (for example, a blurred waterfall). The pro line lenses have a high-quality build, integrated lens hoods, smooth zoom and focus rings, and round bokeh visualization (background blur).

The OM-1’s lens options make it ideal for birders and wildlife watchers. The new 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO gives you a lightweight 300-800mm range and an integrated teleconverter up to 1000mm handheld. Tom tested this lens/camera combo and had a blast photographing birds in his neighbourhood without his arms getting too tired. For more: OM Systems

Tip: The best lenses include the Olympus 12-100mm F/4 IS PRO (24-200mm), 12-24mm f/2.8 II PRO (24-80mm f/2.8 equivalent), 40-150mm F/2.8 PRO (80-300mm pro zoom), 7-14mm PRO (wide-angle zoom), 300mm F/4 IS PRO (600mm F4 equivalent), 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO (300-800mm f/4.5).

Fujifilm X-S10

The Masterclasses 2022: 10 practical tips to help you succeed as a travel photographer

7. Do your preparation and research to line up the best shots

Our experts agreed that great travel photography normally needs hours of research and preparation ahead of a trip, whether you’re looking for the best locations or trying to secure an all-important interview.

“For magic to happen, most of the time we need to be in the right place at the right time with the right contact,” explained Yulia. “There’s a lot of research that goes into that, as well as logistical elements like setting up interviews,” she said. “That’s where tourism boards can be very helpful, because they’re the people who are most knowledgeable about a given area.”

8. Deliver a well-presented final product

For our panellists, much of the hard work comes at the end of a trip. From editing images to ensuring you’ve met your client’s brief, it’s important to think how you can create a final product that really stands out.

“You want to keep your final board [of images] very tight — think about what will catch the eye and stand out,” said Francesco. “[Aim for] 15 to 20 pictures, up to a maximum of 30, and put these all together in one single file — ideally a PDF. Make sure you start well and finish well, with dynamic presentation that will keep the interest of the editor.”

9. Stay humble and keep learning

A recurring theme across each travel photography session was the need to keep learning and developing your skills. “Be humble,” advised Lauryn. “There’s always someone doing better work than you, and you should always keep learning. The most important thing for me in the past decade is to keep learning on the job.”

Annapurna echoed Lauryn’s advice: “If you are passionate about photography, you naturally look at a lot of other people’s work,” she said. “It’s really nice to get ideas about different ways to use light and different ways to shoot stories.”

10. Be persistent and never give up

Finally, our experts emphasised the need to be persistent and patient as you build your travel photography career.

“This can be a really long game — you have to be patient,” said Yulia. “People often start pitching and stop when they don’t see immediate results. Those of us who are still in the industry are here because we didn’t stop pitching our stories and sharing our pictures. If we can do it, you can, too. If this is your passion, you just have to keep going.”

The Masterclasses by National Geographic Traveller (UK) will return in 2023.

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A passion for photography and flight

Perth aviation photographer Richard Kreider has taken a stunning image of a Qantas 787 after lift-off from Perth on its non-stop journey to London.

The Qantas 787, VH-ZND “Emily” operated QF9 from Perth to London on October 29.

Born at a US Air Force base in France during the Cold War years, Mr Kreider jokes that his first breath probably had a liberal dose of fumes from aircraft engines.

And that exposure continued, living under the flight path to Heathrow in his teenage years and he joined the Air Training Corps.

Cathay Pacific A350 lands through fog at Perth Airport. Credit: RICHARD KREIDER

Aviation lives alongside his passion for soccer — he is a member of the Football Hall of Fame WA and part of the FFA National Panel of Football Historians.

Mr Kreider says that night flight photography is a real adventure.

“It’s the thrill of the chase and the accounting for the contrasting weather conditions such as rain and fog,” he says.

Emirates 777 about to land in Perth as an almost full moon seemingly looks on. Credit: Richard Kreider

Resolving the technical issues of correct lighting, focus and framing are testing factors of this challenging photography.

“When all of these factors align and a great shot is achieved, then getting up at 2am is worthwhile,” he says.

The results are more than worthwhile, with many of Mr Kreider’s night pictures being used across the globe.

Some of Mr Kreider’s most popular images are of an Emirates Boeing 777 framed by the moon, a Virgin Australia Regional Airlines Fokker 100 landing in rain and a Cathay Pacific Airways A350-900 landing in fog.

Perth Airport is also helping aviation enthusiasts with more viewing areas planned in conjunction with the building on the new parallel runway expected later this decade.

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