Wildlife Photographer of the Year – People’s Choice

I saw this on the BBC website and thought you might like it, there are many more images there to see so go and have a look, here is a link

Vote for the People’s Choice Award here before 10 January 2017.

The exhibition runs until 10 September 2017. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.

Shortly after purchasing the Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya, the owners learned that the only remaining Rothschild’s giraffes in the country were at risk, as their sole habitat was being subdivided into smallholdings. So they began a breeding programme to reintroduce the Rothschild’s giraffe into the wild. Today, guests can enjoy visits from resident giraffes in search of a treat.Breakfast time
Cari Hill, New Zealand

The kingfisher frequented this natural pond every day, and Mario Cea used a high shutter speed with artificial light to photograph it. He used several units of flash for the kingfisher and a continuous light to capture the wake as the bird dived down towards the water.The blue trail
Mario Cea, Spain

These snow geese almost seemed like ghosts in the pink early morning light as they landed among sandhill cranes in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, US.Ghostly snow geese
Gordon Illg, US

Alain Mafart Renodier was on a winter visit to Japan’s Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park when he took this photograph of a sleeping baby Japanese macaque, its mother’s hand covering its head protectively.A mother’s hand
Alain Mafart Renodier, France

Tapio Kaisla took a trip to Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjell National Park, Norway, to find these oxen in their natural habitat. Even though spring is not rutting season for these animals, they were already seriously testing their strength against each other. The air rang out with the loud bang of the head-on collision.Head-on
Tapio Kaisla, Finland

Cindy Sherman

Another in our occasional posts about master photographers. Cindy Sherman is unusual as a photographer, she only photographers herself, most photographers I know avoid having their photographs taken. Her work is challenging, some may say disturbing but her intelligent approach to making art demands you think about what she is saying through her images. This short introduction from her biography site explains some..

By turning the camera on herself, Cindy Sherman has built a name as one of the most respected photographers of the late twentieth century. Although, the majority of her photographs are pictures of her, however, these photographs are most definitely not self-portraits. Rather, Sherman uses herself as a vehicle for commentary on a variety of issues of the modern world: the role of the woman, the role of the artist and many more. It is through these ambiguous and eclectic photographs that Sherman has developed a distinct signature style. Through a number of different series of works, Sherman has raised challenging and important questions about the role and representation of women in society, the media and the nature of the creation of art.”…..more here

She is featured on the Masters of Photography site with more images

 

There is also a very interesting interview with Cindy Sherman in The Guardian here are the opening paragraphs

“I give Cindy Sherman the once-over. Then the twice- and thrice-over. I know I’m staring more than is right but I can’t help myself. I’m looking for clues. Sherman is one of the world’s leading artists – for 30 years, she has starred in all her photographs – and yet the more we see of her, the less recognisable she is.

She’s a Hitchcock heroine, a busty Monroe, an abuse victim, a terrified centrefold, a corpse, a Caravaggio, a Botticelli, a mutilated hermaphrodite sex doll, a man in a balaclava, a surgically-enhanced Hamptons type, a cowgirl, a desperate clown, and we’ve barely started.

In front of me is an elegant woman with long, blond hair and soft features. She’s stylish – black jodhpurs, thick, white sweater, Chanel boots horizontally zipped at the top to make pockets, and a furry handbag that doubles as a great golden bear. She looks much kinder than in many of her photographs. She also looks petite – until you notice the big, strong arms: she used to box. She will be 57 next week.”

For many her assault on the way the fashion industry objectifies and presents women was primary in forging her reputation as one of the most important photographers working over the last 30 years. 

Landscape Photographer of the Year 2013 Book

This just might be the perfect present for someone you know

The award celebrates the landscapes of the United Kingdom, showcasing the country through the work of the nation’s best amateur and professional photographers. Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 7 is a stunning coffee table book containing beautiful full colour reprints of the winning and commended entries. It is published by AA Publishing and available from Amazon

Here is a selection of just some of the fantastic images featured in the book:

Charlotte Gilliatt, ‘Iconic’ London, Urban View

Charlotte Gilliatt, ‘Iconic’ London, Urban View

Colin Westgate, ‘Beach Huts in the Snow’ Mersea Island, Essex,

 David Mould, ‘Autumn Morning Light’ Loch Rusky, Perthshire,

Your View Graeme Peacock, ‘Gateshead Millennium Bridge’, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear,

Linda Wevill, ‘Frosty Gate’, Romney Marsh, Kent –

Your View Mirek Galagus, ‘Corfe Castle’, Dorset. Highly Commended –

Classic View Mirk Galagus, ‘Sundial’, Beachy Head, East Sussex, Classic View –

Calumet Award Paul Mitchell, ‘Micheldever Woods’, Hampshire.

STM Choice & Highly Commended – Classic View Robert Birkby, ‘Bill & Ben’, Fort William, Scotland. Runner-up –

Classic View Scott Wilson, ‘Black Rock Cottage by Moonlight’

Your View Tim Way ‘Sky on Skye’, Inner Hebrides, Scotland,

MIMI MOLLICA . PHOTOGRAPHER

György László at  L1GHTB1TES keeps finding gems to tantalise us with, this one is from his first post.

GL: Your pictures from Dakar are currently on display at the Somerset House in London. When I saw them I sensed a mixture of immediacy and formal discipline. How did you take these pictures?
MM: While working on En Route To Dakar, I was lucky enough to be mentored by Mr. Martin Parr, whom I like to call Mr. Martin. Once, as he was commenting on my photographs, Mr. Martin told me, to spend much more time on taking my photographs. “Mr. Martin, more than one hour per photograph?”, I asked. “One hour? Mimi, you must stay one day, one week, one month on a photograph… until it is good!”
So I went back to Dakar and applied the methodology suggested by him. This picture must have been taken in March 2008. There was this spot along the motorway, where a bridge was to be built, but at that moment people still had to just cross the highway to go from one part of Dakar to the other. Every day from early morning until the evening, commuters, school kids, vendors, women… Everyone was flowing from one side to the other and I thought this was pretty symbolic, important for my story, and mostly, it was visually compelling!
I waited in the middle of the carriageway and stayed there all morning and the day after all afternoon and the following day from morning until late afternoon and so on… I have a lot of photographs of people jumping across the highway. This is one I am quite happy about. I like the colors, and I like the posture of this lady imposing her elegant and eloquent figure on my frame.
GL: How do you get ready for such moments mentally? And how do you make sure that the image is going to be okay technically?
MM: Generally speaking, I believe in the photographer’s expertise to be able to catch volatile moments, to be able to render them universal in a photograph. This is what is exciting about reportage/documentary photography. Only by doing so can you maintain a good honest balance between you, the photographer, and the reality you are trying to capture.
It’s a bit like fishing. If you go out to the ocean, place a bomb into the sea, detonate it and then come and collect the dead fish, this is not what I call fishing, this is plain and simple mass murder! But when you go out and spend a day with your rod waiting for the good catch, not only you’ll feel more in balance with nature, but you’ll have thought a great deal during that day. That’s why fishermen and photographers are usually wise people, because they learn to observe and to listen. The means are as important as the end!
I am always aware of the moments I would want to catch with my camera, even if for some reason I do not have the camera with me. This is my natural attitude towards life. Yes, I do go to places where things are more likely to ‘happen’ but photographs are virtually everywhere!
As far as the technical aspect of capturing the right image, here you need some skills, you need to know your tools, you have to master your camera and be ready to capture the moment without hesitation. I must admit that I did loose a few photographs along the years, but this is also part of the game. If it is true that you learn from your mistakes, then I must be very clever by now!

More

Related articles

• Martin Parr Research (alevelphotographyblogg.wordpress.com)
• Sally Mann 3 (cochranse.wordpress.com)
• Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr: English rituals of the 60s (theguardian.com)
• A brief discussion of Henri Cartier-Bresson (philplunkett.wordpress.com)
• Susan Burnstine, A Photographer and An Inspiration (jacquelinepfeiffer.wordpress.com)

DANIELLA ZALCMAN . PHOTOGRAPHER

From L1GHTB1TES

New York + London 52, 2013
Our lives are surrounded, flooded by images. All of these images have an impact on us, but only a few of them register consciously and give you that ‘aha’ sensation. Daniella’s New York + London did just that to me: there’s some playful immediacy about them, you’re drawn into a game of trying to guess where they were taken. At the same time, many of them take you floating above these cities, showing you the world from a dreamy, lonely, god-like perspective.
GL: How did you discover your method of digital double exposure?
DZ: I basically had no experience with double exposures before this project, outside of accidental composites in my film photography. A few weeks before I moved to London I stumbled across the Image Blender app and thought it was kind of fun, and so when I came up with the idea for New York + London it just clicked.
daniella zalcmann ny:lnd 1All of the photos for my New York + London project were taken very casually — in New York, they were taken with a twinge of nostalgia as I was preparing to pack up and move, and London they were taken through the eyes of a tourist, essentially, in my new home. None of the images were taken with composites or specific pairings in mind — that all happened organically. For this specific double exposure, the New York photo was taken while on an assignment for the Wall Street Journal on the 100th anniversary of Grand Central Terminal, and the London image was taken just around the corner from my flat in Pimlico.
GL: With street and documentary photography we all have our methods of being (almost) always ready to take a picture. How would you compare your own attitudes and strategies when you’re shooting film, digital or on a smartphone?
DZ: My attitudes differ pretty dramatically depending on whether I’m working with film, a DSLR, or an iPhone. With medium format film I’m slow and thoughtful, with my DSLR I’m a little trigger-happy. The iPhone is somewhere in between — because it’s such an informal medium, I tend not to overthink framing and composition, which can be surprisingly freeing.
18My phone is almost always in my hand. It’s a horrible habit (born of spending many years as a spot news photojournalist in New York City and always being on call in the event of… pretty much anything), but it means I’m always ready. For New York + London I was a little less in street photography hunting mode because so many of these images are architectural and, thankfully, buildings are a little more forgiving than people.

 

Want to read more? Go Here

Edward Burtynsky WATER Exhibition

These images of water are quite beautiful, the exhibition is only on until 23rd November so if you are in London get along to Cork Street

Water is the most recent instalment of the artist’s investigation into our continually compromised environment. Weaving
together the various roles that it plays in everyday life, Burtynsky has undertaken an ambitious representation of water’s
increasingly fragmented life cycle. Often from an aerial perspective, the photographs take on a unique abstraction and
painterly quality. Many of the images focus our attention not on water itself, but on the systems that humans have put in
place in order to harness, shape and commodify it. Water follows the format of previous projects such as Oil, China and
Quarries in it’s encyclopaedic exploration of a broad theme through a series of connected chapters or locations….MORE

Flowers Gallery 21 Cork Street
Edward Burtynsky WATER
http://www.flowersgallery.com
16 October – 23 november 2013
London W1S 3LZ +44 (0)20 7439 7766

Go here for the exhibition website

Xiaolangdi Dam #1, Yellow River, Henan Province, China, 2011 Chromogenic Print

All images from Edward Burtynsky WATER

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013

Every year we are amazed at the quality of wildlife images in this competition, it has to be the most prestigious in the world, and we get to see in our own back yard. The Natural History Museum in London hosts the competition exhibition and if there was ever a reason to go to London then this is it.

2013: Wildlife Photographer of the Year – Grand title winner Greg du Toit (South Africa)

Essence of elephants

Ever since he first picked up a camera, Greg has photographed African elephants. ‘For many years,’ he says, ‘I’ve wanted to create an image that captures their special energy and the state of consciousness that I sense when I’m with them. This image comes closest to doing that.’ The shot was taken at a waterhole in Botswana’s Northern Tuli Game Reserve, from a hide (a sunken freight container) that provided a ground-level view. Greg chose to use a slow shutter speed to create the atmosphere he was after and try ‘to depict these gentle giants in an almost ghostly way.’ He used a wide-angle lens tilted up to emphasise the size of whatever elephant entered the foreground, and chose a narrow aperture to create a large depth of field so that any elephants in the background would also be in focus. Greg had hoped the elephants would turn up before dawn, but they arrived after the sun was up. To emphasise the ‘mysterious nature’ of these ‘enigmatic subjects’, he attached a polarising filter and set his white balance to a cool temperature. The element of luck that added the final touch to his preparation was the baby elephant, which raced past the hide, so close that Greg could have touched her. The slow shutter speed conveyed the motion, and a short burst of flash at the end of the exposure froze a fleeting bit of detail.

2013: Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Udayan Rao Pawar (India)

Mother’s little headful

One night, Udayan camped near a nesting colony of gharials on the banks of the Chambal River – two groups of them, each with more than 100 hatchlings. Before daybreak, he crept down and hid behind rocks beside the babies. ‘I could hear them making little grunting sounds,’ says Udayan. ‘Very soon a large female surfaced near the shore, checking on her charges. Some of the hatchlings swam to her and climbed onto her head. Perhaps it made them feel safe.’ It turned out that she was the chief female of the group, looking after all the hatchlings. Though he saw a few more females and a male, they never came close. Gharials were once found in rivers all over the Indian subcontinent. Today, just 200 or so breeding adults remain in just 2 per cent of the former range. ‘The Chambal River is the gharial’s last stronghold,’ says Udayan, ‘but is threatened by illegal sand-mining and fishing.’

There are many different categories, these shown here are just the most prestigious, you can see all the categories and gaze in wonder at the entries and winners here

2013: Eric Hosking Portfolio Award

Connor Stefanison (Canada)

The flight path

Connor’s photography draws on the wilderness skills he acquired over a childhood spent largely outdoors. This female barred owl had a territory near his home in Burnaby, British Columbia. He watched her for some time, familiarising himself with her flight paths until he knew her well enough to set up the shot. ‘I wanted to include the western red cedar and the sword ferns so typical of this Pacific coastal rainforest.’ Setting up his camera near one of the owl’s favourite perches, linked to a remote and three off-camera flashes, diffused and on low settings, he put a dead mouse on a platform above the camera and waited for the swoop that he knew would come. ‘She grabbed the mouse, flew back to her perch and began calling to her mate. It is one of the most exciting calls to hear in the wild.’

 

The exhibition details are:

Exhibition and tickets

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 exhibition
Natural History Museum
18 October 2013 – 23 March 2014
10.00-17.50 (last admission 17.15)
Open late the last Friday of every month

The world-renowned annual exhibition opens at the Museum on 18 October 2013. It shines a spotlight on the rarely seen wonders of the natural world.

100 images have been selected from tens of thousands of international entries and are displayed in the exhibition gallery to dramatic effect on sleek backlit installations.

 

Exhibition information for visitors

Visitor enquiries:   +44 (0)20 7942 5000
Admission:              Adult £12*, child and concessions £6*,                                    family £33* (up to 2 adults and 3 children).
Free for Members, Patrons and children                                    aged 4 and under.

 

The exhibition goes on tour around the country, you can follow this link to find if it will be in a town near you

The exhibition comes to Oxford next year

• Oxford
  15 June 2014 to 15 September 2014
  Oxford University Museum of Natural History
  http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk

   

Home, my Place in the World – Photography Exhibition Wandsworth

Contemporary photography exhibition opens at the Wandsworth Museum until 14 September 2013

The Wandsworth Museum’s summer exhibition of contemporary photography is showcasing the best images from the annual Accademia Apulia Photography Awards. Over 50 striking images are featured in this first-ever exhibition of award entries, created by photographers worldwide.

Accademia Apulia Photography Award was established in 2008 to champion the importance of diversity in a fast-changing world. The awards are intended to inspire artists from different communities to reflect on the significance of cultural heritage

Under the patronage of the International Organization for Migration, Amnesty International, the British Council, the European Commission and the Government of Apulia, Home, my Place in the Worldexplores how the concept of home is evolving as migrants worldwide seek better living conditions.

Open to the public until 14th Sept 2013, the exhibition also reports on social integration, both positive and negative.

Wandsworth Museum

38 West Hill

Londra

SW18 1RX

Hot shots: FreshFaced and WildEyed photography – in pictures

From dog gymkhanas to Tahrir Square protesters, a major exhibition in London showcases the best rising talent in the field of photography every year – and here’s the pick of the bunch

For more, visit the Photographers’ Gallery until 21 July 2013

Nicolas Feldmeyer: After All, 2012Photograph:

 

Lorna Evans: Dog Jumping, 2012

Daniel Mayrit: An Encounter, 2012

Jolanta Dolewska: Holding, 2012

See more here

OVER 200 SEMINARS TO HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER PHOTOGRAPHER

This event in London in October might be something you would find interesting, we over here at OSP Towers don’t know much about it but we have the links for you to check it out and decide for yourself. Personally a photography event that only has pictures of people with their cameras on the website leaves me a bit cold but I don’t really care about kit I care about photography

PhotoLive 2013 is the UK’s biggest and best photography training event.

Taking place over the weekend of 26-27 October at the Hotel Novotel London West, PhotoLive 2013 brings the experts to you, with over 200 big name-led seminars designed to help you improve your photography.

THE PASSION

Whether you’re passionate about landscapes, portraits, wildlife, travel, macro or Photoshop, you’ll come away fromPhotoLive 2013 inspired and informed.

We’ve designed the show to suit everyone. Tickets start at just £20.

You can attend as many seminars as you like and there’s an identical programme on both the Saturday and Sunday, enabling you to come on both days and take in as much as you can. See the Schedule page for more details.

THE PEOPLE

Sign up today to receive expert tuition and insight from legendary photographers and Photoshop experts including Steve Bloom, Kate Hopewell-Smith, Glyn Dewis, David Noton, Andy Rouse, Tom Mackie and George Cairns.

Our aim is to help you become a better photographer, so if you love photography and want to take your skills to the next level, meet like-minded photography enthusiasts and have a brilliant day (or weekend) out, then PhotoLive 2013 is for you!

Hotel Novotel London West, 1 Shortlands, London W6 8DR