Wildlife photos: How to take the best shots

From the BBC website we have this

Even though the latest digital cameras can take dozens of photographs within a matter of seconds, and reveal instant results, it is still not as easy as you might think to snap a winning image.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition – run by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide – receives thousands of entries. With the 2013 entry deadline approaching, what could you do to make your images stand out? Watch this slideshow – click here – to get some expert tips.

Enter Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 now and take part in one of the world’s most prestigious photography events. The competition is open to professional photographers, amateurs, young and old, worldwide until 25 February 2013. Full details here

Adults may enter up to 20 images for £20.00.  Entrants aged 17 and under may enter up to 10 images FREE.

Here are some other great tutorials that will help you to get great shots

12 Great Online Tutorials on Wildlife Photography

10 Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography

 

 

2012: Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year – Winner

Wildlife photography is one of the most popular items we write about. So many people would love to make pictures of wildlife but don’t have the time, gear or knowledge so being able to see the work of these winners is a joy

Paul Nicklen (Canada)

Bubble-jetting emperors

This was the image Paul had been so hoping to get: a sunlit mass of emperor penguins charging upwards, leaving in their wake a crisscross of bubble trails. The location was near the emperor colony at the edge of the frozen area of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. It was into the only likely exit hole that he lowered himself. He then had to wait for the return of the penguins, crops full of icefish for their chicks. Paul locked his legs under the lip of the ice so he could remain motionless, breathing through a snorkel so as not to spook the penguins when they arrived. Then it came: a blast of birds from the depths. They were so fast that, with frozen fingers, framing and focus had to be instinctive. ‘It was a fantastic sight’, says Paul, ‘as hundreds launched themselves out of the water and onto the ice above me’ – a moment that I felt incredibly fortunate to witness and one I’ll never forget.

The exhibition of this prestigious award is held at the Natural History Museum

Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition 2012
19 October 2012 – 3 March 2013
Open 10.00 – 17.50 daily

This world-renowned annual exhibition at the Natural History Museum provides a spotlight on the rarely seen wonders of the natural world.

The 100 winning images that will be on show are selected from 1,000s of international entries and are beautifully displayed in sleek backlit installations.

Admission:              Adult £10*, child and concessions £5*,                                    family £27* (up to 2 adults and 3 children).

You can book tickets on line here and directions are here

The competition is hosted by the NHM and the BBC and there is a link to pictures on the BBC website here

There is a fabulous book associated with this competition have a look at it here

European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011

Wonderful wildlife pictures here

Mammals category, winner: Lords of the Arctic by Florian Schulz. (Three bull muskox heading towards the setting sun during a blizzard in north-western Alaska) Photograph: Florian Schulz/GDT

Mammals category, runner-up: Sleeping Whales by Magnus Lundgren Photograph: Magnus Lundgren /GDT

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 highly commended images

The Guardian has a selection of images from the highly commended section of this award, as with the winning selection we featured last week these are quite stunning. More can be seen on the Guardian site here

Behaviour: Birds – Taking Flight, Paul Goldstein Paul arrived very early on the shores of Lake Nakuru, Kenya, before the rising sun had burned off the mist. He had returned to photograph the greater and lesser flamingos and used shade, shadow and silhouette to create drama, rather than emphasising their vivid colours with sunlight. He was helped by a combination of circumstances: rain during the night, a rapidly clearing sky, enough time for the cold air to form mist over the alkaline waters, and a hyena hunting for young or infirm birds along the far shore of the soda lake. The predator set up a wave of panic, with those closest to it taking flight and those nearest to Paul standing alert. Ten minutes later, not only had the whole flock lifted up, but the mist had also burned off, completely changing the scene. Photograph: Paul Goldstein/WPY

Behaviour: Mammals – The Charge by Eric Pierre (France) Eric had been tracking Arctic wolves on Victoria Island, Canada, when his guide spotted a herd of muskoxen 3 miles (5km) away. Approaching, Eric could see that the herd was nervous, probably because wolves were also on its trail. He made a detour and stopped about half a mile away upwind. Suddenly, he realised that the herd was now running towards them, oblivious of them. “I’ve seen muskoxen run away,” says Eric. “I’ve seen them react to a threat by forming a circle, and I’ve even seen a male charge. But I’ve never seen a herd spread out into a charging line like this. I could hear the thundering of their hooves. It was one of those situations where it really mattered that I made the right choice between technical accuracy, aesthetics and security.” Photograph: Eric Pierre/WPY

The exhibition information:

Exhibition and tickets

2011 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition
21 October 2011 – 11 March 2012

Open 10.00 – 17.50 daily

Book tickets now

This world-renowned yearly exhibition at the Natural History Museum provides a spotlight on the rarely seen wonders of the natural world.

From 21 October, enter an atmospheric space inside the exhibition gallery and be inspired by this year’s competition winners. The images are selected from 1000s of international entries and are beautifully displayed in sleek backlit installations

The 2011 British Wildlife Photographer of the Year

As with the International Garden Photographer of the Year ,this competition to find the British Wildlife Photographer of the Year, shows what fantastic talent and skill is out there. The results of this competition are again beautiful and revealing.

” The winning image of a jellyfish was captured by Richard Shucksmith. His photo was taken at Sula Sgeir (meaning Gannet Rock) a small uninhabited Scottish island, 41 miles north of Lewis. The inhospitable area is home to exposed islands sustaining an astounding variety of marine life. The remoteness of these islands, as well as the challenge that comes with visiting them, makes Richard’s incredible photo all the more special. “.…more

2011 Winner: Animal Portraits  Mark Smith

Mystical Mist (Fallow Deer, Dama dama) Surrey, England

2011 Winner: Habitat   Ian Paul Haskell

Hare in Morning Light with Hoar Frost (Brown Hare, Lepus europaeus) Norfolk

Spooked starlings make a hasty exit from a tree in Bayston Hill, Shropshire. David Biggs opportunistically took this photo from his house, and subsequently won the Urban Wildlife category Photograph: David Biggs/British Wildlife Photography Awards

The Young British Wildlife Photographer up to 11 years category was won by Walter Lovell, 8, who again waited patiently for this photo of a frog checking its frogspawn in his garden in Painswick, Gloucestershire Photograph: Walter Lovell/British Wildlife Photography Awards

Nate Zeman Landscape Photographer

A student on one of our courses alerted me to the utterly fantastic landscape images of Nate Zeman. His images prove the point that more than anything the quality of light makes a brilliant photograph. His website has a wide range of landscapes and images of animals that are available to purchase. If you like landscapes then you really should visit his site

We cover some aspects of landscape and wildlife photography in our Travel Photography course starting 9th June

Selecting and Shooting Your Best Pictures for Competition Entries

Yesterday I posted about a number of photographic competitions that you might consider entering, not just because you might win but because of the learning process that you go through when working to a specific brief. I do believe that working to a purpose or particular subject matter improves your visual sense and eye so entering competitons is a good way to achieve that.

This article is written by D. Travis North who has his own blog. He writes that he recently acted as a judge for a photographic competition and this has led him to compile a list of tips and guides as to how you should approach entering a competition, all good information I think so have a look at his article here

Here is Marianne Majerus last year’s International Garden Photographer of the Year winner speaking to Miranda Gavin of f2 magazine about her experience of IGPOTY

If you are interested in learning more about garden photography here is a link to a IGPOTY masterclass and for a more hands on learning process join our Garden and Plant Photography  on June 12th

50 Breathtaking Examples of Wildlife Photography

Following on from our tutorials on wildlife photography last week I am sure you will enjoy the images here

Brilliant photography from National Geographic Archives

National Geographic is the source for photos, free desktop wallpapers of places, animals, nature, underwater, travel, and more. The following 60 beautiful photographs has beautiful wild life, nature, people and bird photos.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Science Oxford in St Clements has an exhibition space and for a few years have brought the Wild Life Photographer Exhibition of the year to it’s gallery.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition

Saturday 22 January to Sunday 13 March

£3.50pp/£11Group/SO Live Friends Free

Open Monday – Sunday, 10am to 5pm

Science Oxford Live is delighted to host the 2010 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition.  This is one of the first stops on its UK tour, so don’t miss this opportunity to see more than 100 prize-winning photographs from 18 competition categories. Suitable for all ages