subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 1 June 2019 17
Namib’s Gaze
Emanuele Biggi
Overall winner Close-up Photographer of the Year
Winner Animals
Occupation Naturalist and conservation photographer,
Italian TV presenter
http://www.anura.it Instagram emanuele_biggi
‘Finding a Peringuey’s adder in the Namib Desert
isn’t easy. I followed its tracks during the early
morning, and eventually found one under a shrub with
its eyes poking out. This adder is small – the diameter of
each eye is about 2-3mm, so even though I knew it was
there, it was still hard to spot! This species relies on
camoufl age to hunt and uses a sit-and-wait technique,
leaving its nostrils and eyes above ground for breathing
and scanning around. When prey comes near, the snake
strikes and delivers a venomous bite.’
EMANUELE’S TOP TIPS
1 Research your subject, and go out with an expert guide.
2 Use a macro lens to focus close to your subject.
3 Use fl ashes, or shade the animal to get nice soft light.Nikon D810, Nikon AF-S 60mm
f/2.8 Macro, ISO 100, 1/250sec at
f/16. Accessories: Flashes with
custom-made diffusers, flash
bracket. Post processing:
Lightroom, light cropping
of the imageMoonlit Shore
Richard Mills
Second place Manmade
Occupation Learning disabilities support worker
Instagram richiemills
‘I made this image in a place that mostly
goes unnoticed – a textured surface at
ground level, out of general view. This was my
starting point, but my aim was to source and
create an abstraction from this. I wanted to
encourage the eye to see land, sky and sea.
Cracks and scratches became horizon lines,
while staining and weathering
mimicked clouds. With a shift in
perspective, and no reference
point to suggest scale, the image
appears to show a distant view,
and is more suggestive of a
painting than a photograph.’RICHARD’S TOP TIP
1 Look down; shoot in places you
would never normally look.© RICHARD MILLS