16 Digital SLR Photography October 2019
4 ) GARDEN AND URBAN BIRDS. BRONZE AWARD WINNER: Arctic Winter Colour Festival by
Martin Eschholz, Germany. Long-tailed duck clangula hyemalis in Port of Vardø, Varanger,
Norway. “White everywhere. That is the first impression when visiting the Varanger Peninsula in the
Arctic north of Norway in winter. But a surprisingly amount of colour can be found too, especially in
the region's various harbours. The port of Vardø is a working fishing harbour attracting several
species of wintering sea ducks, with one of the most fascinating being the long-tailed duck.”3 ) BIRDS IN FLIGHT. BRONZE AWARD WINNER: Colourful Chaos by Liron Gertsman, Canada.
Cobalt-winged parakeet brotogeris cyanoptera in Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. “Scattered
throughout the Amazon basin are hundreds of clay licks where parrots, parakeets and macaws
come to eat clay and neutralise the acidic fruits that they eat. We waited over three days before we
were treated to the sight of hundreds of Parakeets raining down on the forest floor. Seeing them
and hearing the deafening roar of parakeet chatter was an experience I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”2 ) YOUNG BIRD P HOTOGRAPHER O F THE Y EAR SILVER AWARD WINNER: The Tongue of the
Hummingbird by Madeline Nolan, U.S. A. Rufous hummingbird selasphorus rufus in Colorado,
U.S.A. “My family and I travelled to Creede, Colorado. My mum had just got a new camera and a
big lens. Every morning, I would wake up, borrow the equipment and take pictures of the
hummingbirds in the national forest. Some days, I would shoot for hours. I was able to capture
this adorable female rufous hummingbird sticking her tongue out!”1 ) GOLD AWARD WINNER AND BIRD P HOTOGRAPHER O F THE Y EAR WINNER: Dancing on Ice
by Caron Steele, U.K. Dalmatian pelican pelecanus crispus in Lake Kerkini, Greece. “On arriving in
Greece to photograph dalmatian pelicans in their breeding plumage, I discovered that Lake
Kerkini had frozen for the first time in 16 years; all the pelicans had flown off. Fortunately, a few
holes started to thaw in the lake and the birds slowly began to return. Unused to the slippery ice,
they regaled us with hilarious antics as they slid across the lake surface trying to retain control.”CARONSTEELE/BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE Y EARMADELINENOLAN/BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE Y EAR12B
IRD PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2019 exceeded all our
expectations and attracted an incredible standard of
photography," remarks director and competition organiser
Rob Read. "‘Dancing on Ice’ is an image that had me leaping
from my chair with joy the moment I saw it appear on my computer
screen. All too frequently the judges see images where the
photographers have fabulous photographic opportunities that they
fail to make the most of. Lake Kerkini rarely freezes over and Caron
certainly made the most of this virtually unique opportunity. Everything
about this image is right, it is truly delightful in its near-perfection.”
Among the other winners was Thomas Hinsche from Germany for
the Best Portfolio, who received an Olympus OM-D E M1 MkII camera
body and M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4 IS PRO lens outfit for his
winning series of six images. Martin Grace from the UK won the
inaugural Inspirational Encounters Award for his photograph of
Emperor Penguins in Antarctica, while other winners included Ivan
Sjögren, Sweden (Bird Behaviour) and Tamás Koncz-Bisztricz from
Hungary (Young Bird Photographer of the Year 2019).
Conservation is at the heart of the Bird Photographer of the Year
ethos. Money raised through previous years’ donations have been
used by the British Trust for Ornithology to support their Bird Camp
programme run in association with the Cameron Bespolka Trust,
aimed at encouraging the next generation of conservationists. For
2019, in addition to raising money for Birdfair through the Inspirational
Encounters Award, Bird Photographer of the Year has chosen to
support Hookpod, an innovative solution that has the potential to
eliminate the unnecessary deaths of albatrosses and other seabirds
killed as a result of longline fishing. Founding director of Bird
Photographer of the Year Paul Sterry revealed: “BPOTY is delighted to
have raised funds to help support such worthwhile causes. For 2020
and future years, we will be establishing a BPOTY Conservation Fund,
through which we will assist other conservation projects such as
Hookpod, where modest donations can have a real and lasting
impact on our bird populations.”
The (£25) Bird Photographer of the Year book, published by William
Collins, is now available. This 256-page commemorative book
showcases the very best images, along with the stories behind them,
as told by the photographers themselves, as well as the technical
camera information. For those of you inspired to want to enter next
year's competition, it's worth noting that the 2020 Bird Photographer
of the Year is open now, closing on 30 November 2019. With prizes
worth over £20,000, it's certainly worth focusing on our feathered
friends in he near future. For details, visit: http://www.birdpoty.co.uk‘DANCING ON ICE’ IS AN IMAGE THAT HAD ME
LEAPING FROM MY CHAIR WITH JOY THE MOMENT
I SAW IT APPEAR ON MY COMPUTER SCREEN