© ZOLTANKECSKES/ 2019DOGPHOTOGRAPHEROFTHEYEAR © CATRACE/ 2019DOGPHOTOGRAPHEROFTHEYEAR
© DENISECZICHOCKI / 2019DOGPHOTOGRAPHEROFTHEYEARPUPPY POWER!
MAN’S BESTFRIENDPROVIDESPHOTOGRAPHERSWITH
PORTRAITSPACKED WITHPERSONALITY, ASTHE14TH
DOGPHOTOGRAPHEROFTHEYEARAWARDSPROVES2NDPL ACEDOGSATPLAY:ZOLTANKECSKES 1ST PL ACE MAN’S BEST FRIEND: CAT RACEOVERALL WINNER A N D 1ST PL ACE OLDIES: DENISE CZICHOCKIAWARD
RESULTS
T
HE KENNEL CLUB’S Dog Photographer of the Year awards is the
world's largest competition for dog photography and this year saw
a record number of entries. Over 7,000 images were submitted
from more than 70 different countries – that's a lot of wagging tails!
'Dreaming Merlin', by Denise Czichocki of Switzerland, placed first
in the Oldies category and was also chosen as the overall winner of
the competition. It shows Merlin, a 14-year-old rescue Podengo, sat
amongst a magnolia setting. After finding out she had won, Denise
said: “I am really proud and overwhelmed, I still can’t believe it! There
are so many good photographers out there and I won this title, it is
absolutely amazing. I have always loved to take pictures of everything,
and my passion for dog photography started when I had my own, I
wanted to create lovely memories of all of them. Over the years, I have
developed my photography to become more emotional.”
Other category winners included last year’s winner, Monica van der
Maden from the Netherlands, who won both the Puppy category with
a heart-warming image of two Weimeraner puppies and the Dogs at
Play category with a mischievous photo of Waylon the Australian
Shepherd. Dorine Scherpel, from Canada, won the Dogs at Work
category with a photo captured in The Lake District earlier this year;
Cat Race from the UK won the Man’s Best Friend category; Anastasia
Vetkovskaya, from Russia, won the Portrait category with a stunning
Saluki; Young Pup Photographer winner, 11-year-old Sabine Wolpert
from the United States; and Mariah Mobley from the United States won
the I Love Dogs Because... category.
Angelika Elendt from Germany was winner of the Assistance Dogs
category for her portrayal of the important role dogs play in helping
people with mental, emotional and/or physical disabilities. Anne Geier
from Austria was named the winner of the Rescue Dog award for her
photo capturing the close bond between her and her rescue
crossbreed Finn. The Kennel Club Charitable Trust will donate £
to each of the charities chosen by both winners.
The overall winner receives an original oil painting of their image by
award-winning artist Sara Abbott. All category winners will have their
images on display at the Kennel Club in Mayfair and will win a year’s
membership to Flickr Pro as well as a SmugMug photography website
to showcase their work online. They'll also get a one day photography
course by Nikon School UK, as well as a trophy and exhibition print
from Loxley Colour presented during an award ceremony.
Winning images along with the photos that placed second and
third for each category are on display until 3 October at the Kennel
Club in London. The public exhibition is free to visit by appointment:
contact the Art Gallery office at [email protected].
To v i e w t h e i m a g e s , v i s i t : w w w. d o g p h o t o g r a p h e r o f t h e y e a r. o r g. u k20 Digital SLR Photography October 2019