Digital SLR Photography - UK (2019-10)

4 )CREATIVEIMAGERY.HONOURABLEMENTION:AmaziliaSilhouettebyCatEdwardes,U.K.

Rufous-tailedhummingbirdamaziliatzacatlin CostaRica.“I wantedtotakea slightlydifferent

imageofa hummingbirdtocapturethelightthroughitsdelicatewings.I founda particularlygood

flowerthatwouldworkin silhouette.In theendI hadtotakehundredsofimagesuntil I got the

perfect wing position and a slight separation between the bird and the flower.”

3 )BIRDSIN F LIGHT. GOLDAWARDW INNER:HeadOnbyNikunjPatel,U.S.A.Blackskimmer

rynchopsnigerin OceanCity,NewJersey,U.S.A.“Blackskimmersareoneofmyfavouritebirds

andI lovespendingtimein thesummerobservingandphotographingthem.Skimmershavea

lightandelegantflight,withsteadywingbeats.Theyflylowoverwateranddiptheirlower

mandiblejustbelowthesurface,feelingfortinyfishandsnappingthemupwithdeadlyspeed,and

makinghigh-speedturnsin mid-flight.Ona nicesummerevening,I arrivedat a colonyofnesting

seabirds on a beach to photograph black skimmers flying in, bringing fish for the newborn chicks.”

2 )ATTENTIONT ODETAIL. SILVERAWARDW INNER:GownbyCsabaTökölyi,Hungary.Little

egret(egrettagarzetta)in Pusztaszer,Hungary.“Ithadbeena longnightlodgedin a hidesetup

fornocturnalspecies.Afterlongdarkhourspackedwithactionphotography,thebreakingdawn

presenteda realtreat.A littleegretin wonderfulbreedingplumagestoppedbyandwasstanding

at closerangein thegoldenlightofdawnreflectedonthewater’ssurface.Insteadofusinga

wide-angle, I looked for a composition with my telephoto to record a different kind of image.”

1 )BESTPORTRAIT,BRONZEAWARDW INNER:TheGuardianbyWilliamSteel,U.K/SouthAfrica.

Cattleegretbubulcusibisin KhamaRhinoSanctuary,Botswana.“A southernwhiterhinocontinues

grazingunawareofthebountyonitshead,asa westerncattleegretsearchesforinsectsflushed

fromthegrass.Thisis a trulycommensalrelationship.Therhinois indifferenttothepresenceof

thebird,whiletheegretbenefitsfromtherhino’smovementandforaging.Forme,theimageis

such an emotive depiction: a juxtaposition between dark and light, hope and uncertainty.”

CSABA

TÖ

KÖLYI

/BIRD

PHOTO

GRAPH

EROF

THE

YEAR

WILLIAM

STEE

L/BIRD

PHOTO

GRAPH

ER

OFTHE

YEAR

NIKUNJ

PAT

EL/BIRD

PHOTO

GRAPH

EROF

THE

YEAR

1

2 3

18 DigitalSLR PhotographyOctober 2019