Rant : WPoY 08

Warning : Rant incoming _{(I swore I wouldn't write another spam-ful journal, but...here I am!)}


Wildlife Photographer of the Year. A major wildlife photographer competition, that had over 33,000 entries last year and in it's first year had barely 900. Professionals and amateurs enter it each year, and judging is done by panels of proffesionals and other photographers who are not given the details behind the photo (such as the photographer's name, age, profession, the blurb attached to each photo when it is entered into the competition).

But when I went to have a look at the display of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 (showing winners, runners-up and the highly commended), ... one man, Steve Winter mopped the floor. One of his photos won the Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife as well as two other of his photographs being highly commended in the same category. Another photograph was a runners up in Animal Behaviour: Mammals category. His winning photo also made him the overall winner of the (adult) Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

I congratulate him on winning. But when I read the blurb on some of the photos... he's a professional photographer funded by National Geographic. And the photographs he took of snow leopards were taken using a remote control sensor.
I know that a) there's be no other way of getting a half decent photograph of a snow leopard b)remote control cameras are awesome and very useful for taking photographs of shy/rare/nocturnal/crepuscular animals. There is also a c). You can't prevent "professional" photographers from entering a worldwide competition. That just wouldn't be fair. And the man won fair and square.

But OMG does it rankles that the man is PAID for his time and money, as he treks into the reaches of some mountain range for a friggin' kickass photo of a rare and elusive creature (though there is also the chance he might not get any decent photographs at all). But if you look at the quality of the photographs - they aren't that amazing. If someone handed you a print of one, you wouldn't go - WOW! That's a really nice photograph, and it has a snow leopard in it!


Guess I'm just jealous because I entered two photographs that got as far as the Semi Final of Judging before getting knocked out, when three of his photographs were highly commended or better. And I forgot to enter this years competition (I was nearly smashing my head through the wall when I tried to enter on the 31st of March, and it told me that the competition closed for entries on the 29th), so next year I'll have to pay to enter the adult categories. I don't hold out much hope for that.
Hmmmmm..... jealousy is a new feeling over my photographs

In other news, I'm saving for a DSLR. I'm only £40 towards a £700+ camera so far! And of course this isn't related to the rant above this sentence!

I hope the Judges of Wildlife Photographer of the Year are squirming in discomfort. I really really really do.

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