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Slideshow: The best entries so far for the 2021 Comedy Wildlife Awards

21 May

The best entries so far for the 2021 Comedy Wildlife Awards

Now in its 7th year, the annual Comedy Wildlife Awards showcases some of the funniest wildlife moments caught on camera. Here are some of the best entries, out of thousands submitted from around the world, so far, that the judges and organizers felt the urge to share with the public.

‘A lot of wildlife shown in these images are facing threats to their populations and habitats that are heart-breaking. With this competition, we wanted to capture people’s attention and energy by giving them a giggle. In order to protect animals, we need people to fall in love with them. We think these wondrous shots show a side of wildlife that we don’t often get to see. They remind us of the beauty, and comedy, in our natural world that needs protecting,’ says Tom Sullam, the competition’s co-founder.

You still have six more weeks to enter the 2021 Comedy Wildlife Awards. Photographers are allowed to submit up to 10 images. The grand prize includes a safari to Maasai Mara in Kenya. 10% of the competition’s total net revenue will be donated to the Save Wild Orangutans charity.

Entry: ‘Bald Eagle Gets a Surprise’ by Arthur Trevino

Location: Hygiene, CO

Animal Description: Bald Eagle & Prairie Dog

Artist Description: When this Bald Eagle missed on its attempt to grab this prairie dog, the prairie dog jumped towards the eagle and startled it long enough to escape to a nearby burrow. A real David vs Goliath story!

Entry: ‘Monday Morning Mood’ by Andrew Mayes

Location: Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa

Animal Description: Pied Starling

Arist Description: I took this shot while photographing a group of Pied starlings perched in a tree at the Rietvlei Nature Reserve in South Africa. It perfectly sums up my mood on most Monday mornings 🙂

Entry: ‘ROFL’ by Giovanni Querzani

Location: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Animal Description: Young Lion

Artist Description: A young lion in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, who apparently is laughing at my photography skills.

Entry: ‘Quarantine Life’ by Kevin Biskaborn

Location: South Western Ontario, Canada

Animal Description: Raccoon

Artist Description: Isolated inside with your family eager to get out and explore the world? These eastern raccoon kits are too. Just when you think there’s no more room in the tree hollow, mother raccoon appears and displays just how compact the space is. The babies clambered all over their mom and each another, struggling to take a look at the exact same time.

This photo was taken in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. After exploring a particular area with numerous tree hallows, I identified it as a hot spot for raccoon families. Since raccoons will move from den to den, often not spending more than one night at a time in a particular den, locating an area with numerous options is key to locating the animals.

I stumbled across this family and immediately worked on leveling the camera with the hole to prevent an upward angle. When the camera and tripod were ready, the baby raccoons were extremely curious (and cooperative), sticking their heads out for a closer look!

Entry: ‘Yoga Bittern’ by KT Wong

Location: Satay By The Bay, Singapore

Animal Description: Yellow Bittern

Artist Description: A Yellow Bittern was trying very hard to get into a comfortable hunting position. I got this shot when it was between 2 stalks of lotus flower.

Entry: ‘Missed!’ by Lea Scaddan

Location: Perth, Australia

Animal Description: Western Grey Kangaroo

Artist Description: Two Western Grey Kangaroos were fighting and one missed kicking him in the stomach.

Entry: ‘Yay – It’s Friday!’ by Lucy Beveridge

Location: Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

Animal Description: Springbok

Artist Description: A young springbok, all ears and spindly legs, caught in midair while pronking as the sun started to rise over the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. There’s not much information on why the Springbok pronk but some theories suggest it is a way of showing fitness and strength to ward off predators and attract mates. It has also been said that this small, dainty and largely unappreciated antelope also pronks out of excitement, jumping for joy!

Entry: ‘Sweet Lips Are For Kissing’ by Philipp Stahr

Location: Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean

Animal Description: Boxfish

Artist Description: This picture was taken at Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean. Usually box fishes are difficult to take pictures of, since they do not have a problem of a diver coming close, but if you show interest, they always turn the back and not the face to you. That’s why I tried to swim 0.5m above the fish and showing no interest at all to him.

The same time I had my camera not in front of me, but below at my chest pointing to the bottom. When the right moment had come, I turned the camera 90 degrees to the front and just point and shoot, hoping to have the fish in focus. Never expected to have its beautiful lips that close!

Entry: ‘Cranky Hippo’ by Rohin Bakshi

Location: Vwaza Game Reserve, Malawi

Animal Description: Hippo

Artist Description: The baby hippo wanted his mother’s attention, but it seems he wasn’t getting any.

Entry: ‘Happy’ by Tom Svensson

Location: Falklands

Animal Description: Penguin

Artist Description: These penguins was surfing on the waves on to land and looked so happy each time.

Entry: ‘Houston – We’ve Got a Problem!’ by Txema Garcia Laseca

Location: Pantanal (Brazil)

Animal: Amazon Kingfisher

Artist Description: This fish is astonished when has been trapped for a fisher bird.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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‘A Year in Photos’ documentary covers winning imagery from Sony World Photography Awards

24 Apr

The annual Sony World Photography Awards is one of the world’s most reputable competitions for creatives. DPReview makes it a point to cover every announcement. Over the course of the past year, over 330,000 images were submitted to its myriad of contests covering contemporary events and issues. A documentary, produced by Chocolate Films, showcasing the winning images, as well as the stories behind them, was recently released.

Hosted by British stand-up comedian and art historian Jacky Klein, who curiously stated that submissions came in from over 200 countries (she possibly meant territories as well), A Year in Photos from Sony World Photography Awards 2021 features imagery, behind-the-scenes takes, and interviews from some of the award-winning photographers. Some of the jurors also share what they love about a particular photographer’s style the most.

Winning imagery addresses how some people believe the novel Coronavirus was a conspiracy.

Naturally, a good deal of imagery discussed in the hour-long film cover the impact of climate change and the pandemic. As winning photographer Coenraad Heinz Torlage stated early on in the film, ‘I think photography is a powerful medium to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.’ A Year in Photos from Sony World Photography Awards 2021 can be viewed in its entirety above or here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Our favorite gear, rewarded: DPReview Awards 2020

25 Nov

DPReview Awards 2020

How is it nearly the end of the year already? Not that any of us are keen for 2020 to last much longer. To say the least, this has been a strange and difficult few months for people all over the globe, and one that we can’t wait to put behind us. The photo industry (like most industries) was impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic this year, but a lot of great products were released nevertheless, even if launch schedules were a little more erratic (and access to samples a lot more disrupted) than normal.

At the end of every year we get together as a team to recognize the standout products of the past 12 months in our annual DPReview Awards. Normally we do that in a room, but hey – contentious multi-participant discussions about which products a bunch of very opinionated professional reviewers like best are what video calls were invented for!

Without further ado, take a look through this article to find out which products made our list of the best gear of 2020.

Best accessory

Shortlist:

  • Apple iPad Air (2020 version)
  • DJI Mavic Air 2
  • DJI Pocket 2
  • GoPro HERO9 Black

Runner up: GoPro HERO9 Black

‘Go big or come home,’ is a phrase we can only assume is often spoken (or shouted?) at GoPro HQ. And with the new flagship HERO9 Black, GoPro really did go big.

The HERO9 Black offers up to 5K/30p or 4K/60p video from a new 23.6MP sensor; the former gives room to crop-in in post, assuming you’re outputting in 4K. It also features GoPro’s impressive HyperSmooth 3.0 video stabilization, which is easily the best in the action camera class.

Still images are captured at 20MP, up from 12MP on the HERO8 Black. And a new accessory wide angle attachment (sold separately) adds increased versatility to the unit. Long gone are days of confusing button combinations: The HERO9 Black offers a rear touchscreen as well as a front-facing ‘live’ screen. It’s also waterproof, without the need for a case and provides 30% improved battery life over its predecessor. That’s good enough to make it our runner-up for best accessory of the year.

Read more about the GoPro Hero9 Black

Winner: DJI Mavic Air 2

The DJI Mavic series has likely done more to popularize drone photography than any other product, but in 2020 DJI really hit the sweet spot with the Mavic Air 2. It’s a true Goldilocks product that’s not too little or too much – it’s just right. In our review we called it ‘The best all-round drone for most people’.

While not the smallest drone on the market, the Mavic Air 2 still fits in the palm of your hand. Despite its compact size, it features a camera with a 1/2″ CMOS sensor to deliver better image quality than models with smartphone-style sensors. It captures impressive 4K/60p video and photos in JPEG or Raw, includes HDR and panorama modes, and packs useful features like an obstacle avoidance system and impressive subject tracking. Most important, it’s fun to fly and makes it easy to capture great photos and videos, earning it our photo accessory of the year award.

Read more about the DJI Mavic Air 2

Best smartphone camera

Shortlist:

  • Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • Google Pixel 5
  • Huawei Mate 40 Pro
  • Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G

Runner up: Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G

Sitting at the top of Samsung’s Galaxy S20 lineup, the Ultra earns its name in multiple respects, starting with its massive 6.9” OLED screen. But what stands out most to us is its impressive camera hardware. It offers a large 1/1.33″ 108MP sensor in its main camera module, complemented by a 12MP ultrawide and depth-sensing time-of-flight sensors. An additional 48MP telephoto camera features a 103mm periscope configuration with an f/3.5 aperture, making it a native 4x optical zoom. A 10x “hybrid optic zoom” mode is offered that combines data from both the 108MP wide and 48 MP telephoto modules, and you can go up to 30x with some software upscaling wizardry. All but the ultrawide module offer phase-detect autofocus.

This phone was announced in February of this year and at the end of 2020 it’s still unrivaled in terms of raw camera specs. It’s large main sensor, 8K video, and its Nonacell and Tetracell technologies in the main and tele- modules that allow for higher quality images in low light thanks to hardware binning, to name a few.

In recent history, smartphone camera advancements have largely come from more sophisticated software. To be sure, the S20 Ultra has plenty of software tricks up its sleeves, but Samsung also went big on hardware in this device. For this unique combination of cutting-edge software and hardware, it earns our Best Smartphone runner up.

Read more about the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

Winner: Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

Apple reserved its most impressive imaging specifications for the iPhone 12 Pro lineup, with telephoto lenses, LiDAR scanners that enable night portrait mode images, and up to 4K/60p Dolby Vision video. In fact, iPhone 12 phones are the only devices in existence that allow you to capture, edit and display video in the 10-bit Dolby Vision HDR format all on the smartphone itself.

But the iPhone 12 Pro Max takes things a step further, introducing a 47% larger sensor with bigger pixels to the device’s main camera, which in conjunction with the F1.6 main lens aperture allows the Pro Max to capture nearly twice as much light as the previous generation phones. Sensor-shift stabilization has also been added to the main camera for the first time in an iPhone, allowing for better night mode photographs.

While this may not sound like a big deal considering the 1/1.33″ sensors we’ve seen in competitors, it’s the total package that makes the 12 Pro Max our winner. It’s the only smartphone not just capturing but displaying HDR in both stills and video, in more hands than ever before. Yet also doing so also with a large sensor, sensor-shift stabilization and the image processing many have come to know and love of Apple. And seeing HDR photos and videos is believing – it’s one of the next big steps forward in image capture and display, and the 12 Pro Max is going to turn a lot of people into believers. Especially if you set your screen brightness to max!

Read more about Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

Best zoom lens

Shortlist:

  • Nikon Nikkor Z 14-24mm F2.8 S
  • Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S
  • Olympus 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x
  • Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM

Runner-up: Nikon Nikkor Z 14-24mm F2.8 S

The third and final member of Nikon’s Z-mount ‘Holy Trinity’ is an impressive lens – the Z 14-24mm F2.8 S. This one had a hard act to follow, vying to replace the very well-liked AF-S 14-24mm F2.8 in the kitbags of Nikon mirrorless upgraders.

Instead of simply adapting and re-housing the older optical design for the new Z-mount, Nikon’s engineers went back to the drawing board, creating a fast wideangle zoom that manages to be smaller, lighter and more practical than its F-mount predecessor, without sacrificing optical quality and, actually, improving on it. This is a wonderfully sharp lens, and very practical too, weighing in at less than 1.5 lbs, with the option of screw-in filter compatibility via an included hood adapter. This is a lens which – like one of its main competitors this year, Sony’s FE 12-24mm F2.8 GM – really shows what optical designers can do with a short flange-back distance.

Read more about the Nikkor Z 14-24mm F2.8 S

Joint-winner: Nikon Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S

A good 70-200mm F2.8 equivalent seems to be essential in any system which wants to be taken seriously. Nikon announced the Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S way back in January (which feels like years ago) but disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that even now, it’s hard to get hold of.

Assuming you’re lucky enough to get your hands on one, you’ll find a lot to like about the Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S. Perhaps the sharpest of the current (all very sharp) range of similar lenses for competitive mirrorless systems, this powerful telezoom features a very good minimum focus distance, excellent customization, and the ability to accept teleconverters. While it doesn’t have quite the same magic bokeh as the AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8E FL ED VR, the cross-frame sharpness and flare-resistance of this native mirrorless lens is superb, making it a very capable companion for users of Nikon’s Z-mount, and the joint-winner in this year’s DPReview Awards for best zoom lens.

Read more about the Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S

Joint-winner: Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM

In the end we couldn’t choose between the Nikon Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S and this one. The Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM is a very different kind of lens, but equally excellent in its way. Aimed at landscape and astrophotographers alike, it’s a lens that can replace a handful of primes thanks to its optical performance. It’s tack sharp wide open, and three extreme aspherical (XA), two Super ED and three ED (extra low dispersion) elements help the lens achieve little to no lateral or longitudinal chromatic aberration. Stars and city lights are faithfully rendered thanks to minimal coma, and the precision of XA element grinding ensures smooth bokeh with no onion-rings.

The Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM is impressively lightweight at 847g, only 6.5% heavier than the compact Sigma 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN Art lens. It accepts rear-mount gel filters, and is fast to focus thanks to four extreme dynamic (XD) linear motors that allow it to keep up with the 20 fps frame rate of the Sony a9 cameras. A newer Nano anti-reflective coating allows for lower flare and ghosting. Video shooters will be pleased by the linear focus response, lack of focus breathing, focus shift, and axial shift while zooming.

Read more about the Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM

Best prime lens

Shortlist:

  • Nikon Z 20mm F1.8 S
  • Sigma 105mm F2.8 DG DN Macro
  • Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art
  • Sony FE 20mm F1.8G

Runner-up: Sigma 105mm F2.8 DG DN Macro

Another in a line of excellent ‘DN’ (Digital Native) lenses from Sigma, the 105mm F2.8 was designed specifically for full-frame mirrorless cameras, and delivers excellent results on the latest Sony E-mount and Panasonic/Leica/Sigma L-mount bodies.

Medium-telephoto macro lenses like this one are excellent for closeup work of smaller animals and plants, where you want to be able to maintain a reasonable camera-subject distance. They’re also handy as portrait lenses, where the longer focal length and sharpness wide-open help compensate for the relatively slow maximum aperture compared to a conventional portrait prime. As one of (still) very few native macro options for full-frame mirrorless shooters, the Sigma 105mm F2.8 DG DN Macro earns its runner-up spot in this year’s DPReview Award for best prime lens.

Read more about the Sigma 105mm F2.8 DG DN Macro

Winner: Sony FE 20mm F1.8G

The Sony 20mm F1.8G takes the top spot in our awards for prime lens of the year thanks to the fact that it’s nearly optically flawless. It’s sharp enough wide open to pair with the high-resolution 60MP a7R IV, with nearly no lateral or longitudinal chromatic aberration to speak of – particularly impressive for a lens of this type. Bokeh is smooth with no onion rings or bright edges. Nine aperture blades ensure smooth out-of-focus highlights even as you stop down, and for astrophotographers, there’s minimal sagittal flare or coma.

Autofocus is extremely speedy thanks to XD (extreme dynamic) linear focus actuators. Distortion and vignetting are also well-controlled and easily fixed in post-processing. The only flaw we can find really is a tendency to flare and ghost, but that’s excusable for a lens of this type and considering its lack of other optical aberrations.

As the most well-corrected lenses of this type that we’ve ever seen, the Sony 20mm F1.8G easily wins our prime lens of the year.

Read more about the Sony FE 20mm F1.8G

Best compact/fixed lens camera

Shortlist:

  • Fujifilm X100V
  • Nikon Coolpix P950
  • Sony ZV1
  • Zeiss ZX1

Runner-up: Nikon Coolpix P950

In a year with few highlights, testing the Nikon Coolpix P950 was definitely among them. Maybe the perfect camera for shooting during quarantine, if you can’t find some interesting photographic perspectives with a 24-2000mm zoom range, it’s time to find another hobby.

It’s all too easy to sneer at ‘big lens, small sensor’ cameras like this, but do so at your peril. The Coolpix P900 sold like hotcakes, and the P950 is a better camera, and nicer to use, too (thanks to Raw mode and a better EVF, respectively). If you respect its limits, the P950 will reward you with images that would be near-impossible to get with any other comparably-priced setup. A good camera removes obstacles to creativity, and for that reason the Nikon Coolpix P950 earns its runner-up spot in our category for compact / fixed-lens camera this year.

Read more about the Nikon Coolpix P950

Winner: Fujifilm X100V

And the Nikon Coolpix P950 would probably have won outright, were it not for this pesky kid. The Fujifilm X100V is the fifth camera in the company’s perennially-popular X100 range, and brings far more substantial changes compared to previous iterations. Featuring a new 26MP BSI-CMOS sensor, flip-out, touch-sensitive rear-screen and redesigned lens, the X100V is a significantly better camera than its forebears.

We’ve always loved the X100-series, and it was very good to see Fujifilm’s engineers really grasp the nettle this year and make some bolder updates to the concept. And while some photographers might still consider the X100V’s fixed 35mm equivalent lens to be limiting, it’s worth noting that the redesigned lens makes the company’s wide and tele-converters perform a lot better than they did on some previous X100-series models. For everyday photography the X100V is a reliable and enjoyable companion, and as such it takes the top spot in our 2020 DPReview Award for best compact/fixed-lens camera.

Read more about the Fujifilm X100V

Best stills / video camera

Shortlist:

  • Canon EOS R6
  • Fujifilm X-T4
  • Panasonic Lumix DC-S5
  • Sony a7S III

Runner up: Canon EOS R6

The EOS R6 risks being overshadowed by the 8K-capable R5 (and the initial concerns about how it recovers from overheating), but its a hugely capable stills / video camera.

The ability to record in 10-bit, either as Log or PQ HDR footage, is impressive, as is the option to shoot 4K/60p, but its appeal goes beyond that. Its stabilization is excellent, its autofocus is reliable and the video and stills settings are kept separate to a good degree, making it easy to switch back and forth. A firmware update that improves recovery times means it’s primarily its rolling shutter that counts against it. But even with this taken into account, there are few cameras at the price that make it easier to shoot genuinely excellent video.

Read more about the Canon EOS R6

Winner: Sony a7S III

Instead of chasing headline specs, Sony told us its priorities for the a7S III centered around reliability. In that spirit, it stuck with a 12MP sensor to capture native 4K, but its an all-new BSI sensor with dual gain architecture and fast rolling shutter performance. As a result, the camera can capture 4K/60p using the full width of its sensor, and up to 4K/120p with a slight (1.1x) crop, all in 4:2:2 10-bit color.

The a7S III also benefits from updated codecs, including a new All-I ‘intra-frame’ option, 16-bit Raw video output over HDMI, and dual-twin card slots that support both SD and CFexpress Type A. It’s also the first a7-series camera to feature a fully articulating screen in addition to Sony’s class-leading AF system, and it can record 4-channel audio with a new XLR adapter. the a7S III’s biggest drawback is that it’s stuck at 12MP for stills. Native 4K may result in slightly less detail than the oversampled video found on competitors, but it’s still the most impressive stills/video hybrid we’ve seen this year unless you really need more than 4K resolution.

Read more about the Sony a7S III

Best entry-level ILC

Shortlist:

  • Canon EOS Rebel T8i
  • Fujifilm X-S10
  • Fujifilm X-T200
  • Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV

Runner-up: Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV

The Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV is one of the dark horses of the current photography market. Introduced this year without much fanfare, on the surface the E-M10 IV might look like an iterative update to the venerable E-M10-series, and in some ways of course it is. But iteration is good! With the Mark IV, Olympus has created arguably its most competitive consumer ILC yet.

With a 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor (an upgrade from the rather long-in-the-tooth 16MP sensor used in the last generation) and built-in IBIS effective for ~4.5EV, the OM-D E-M10 IV is a more powerful tool than its predecessors. It’s fairly fast (max shooting with AF is possible up to 4.5fps) and offers a decent electronic viewfinder, a flip-down touchscreen on the back, and 4K video. While its menu system and GUI can be overwhelming at first, the amount of features and technology that Olympus has packed into the E-M10 IV make it an excellent option for a keen beginner.

Read more about the Olympus
OM-D E-M10 IV

Winner: Fujifilm X-S10

The Fujifilm X-S10 is one of our favorite cameras of the year (spoiler alert). It uses the same sensor, processor and AF system as the flagship X-T4, and is only the third Fujifilm X-series camera to offer built-in stabilization, using a newly-developed compact IBIS mechanism. Meanwhile the deep handgrip recalls the popular X-H1.

Far from being a ‘parts bin’ camera, the X-S10 brings something genuinely new to Fujifilm’s lineup, offering a more conventional (less dial-driven) interface with a PASM exposure mode control which will be familiar to anyone who has used an entry-level camera from another manufacturer. Its performance, both in terms of autofocus and speed, is excellent, as is image quality in stills and video modes. While just on the cusp of ‘midrange’ considering its price, if you have the money, the Fujifilm X-S10 is one of the best entry-level ILCs on the market, and takes first place this year in our DPReview Awards.

Read more about the Fujifilm X-S10

Best midrange ILC

Shortlist:

  • Canon EOS R6
  • Fujifilm X-T4
  • Nikon Z5
  • Nikon Z6 II

Runner-up: Fujifilm X-T4

Fujifilm’s flagship APS-C format camera, the X-T4 is a model that we find ourselves recommending to friends and family quite often. There was apparently some debate within Fujifilm about whether to call this the ‘X-T3S’ but it was decided that enough had been changed to justify an entirely new model name.

We tend to agree. While the X-T4 looks a lot like the X-T3 (and the X-T2… and the X-T1…) it’s a better and more competitive camera. Now featuring a powerful in-body stabilization system (effective up to an impressive ~6.5EV) and 4K/60p video, the X-T4 is a highly versatile tool. We’ve seen the 26MP BSI-CMOS sensor before in the X-T3 and X100V, but it’s still among the best (if not the best) of its type on the market. Pound for pound and dollar-for-dollar, the Fujifilm X-T4 offers fantastic value, and it’s a lot of fun to shoot with, too.

Read more about the Fujifilm X-T4

Winner: Canon EOS R6

Now that full-frame mirrorless cameras have joined APS-C models in all market segments, it’s harder than ever to divide products up into categories. As you’d expect, the full-frame Canon EOS R6 costs a lot more than the APS-C Fujifilm X-T4, but it’s aimed at essentially the same kind of customers: advanced amateurs and enthusiast photographers, and perhaps professional photographers looking for a second, video-capable body.

It’s hard to imagine a camera better suited to this constituency of users than the Canon EOS R6. It’s fast, powerful and offers excellent autofocus. It’s a great stills camera, which produces very nice JPEGs and offers good (while not class-leading) dynamic range in Raw mode. The R6 also provides one of the sharpest and most responsive electronic viewfinders on the market, and offers an impressive video feature-set, in addition to stills. As a ‘do everything’ camera for enthusiast photographers the Canon EOS R6 is very hard to beat and is likely to remain competitive for a long time. As such, it’s a worthy winner of our 2020 DPReview Award for best midrange ILC.

Read more about Canon’s EOS R6

Best high-end ILC

Shortlist:

  • Canon EOS R5
  • Canon EOS-1D X Mark III
  • Nikon D6
  • Nikon Z7 II

Runner-up: Canon EOS-1D X Mark III

Announced in early January this year, the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III was meant to be Canon’s ‘Olympics’ camera, for the games originally planned in Tokyo this summer. We all know how well that worked out of course, but sports isn’t the only thing that the EOS-1D X Mark III is good for. Despite being a ‘Mark’ update, the Mark III brings a lot of new and impressive technology to Canon’s pro market segment. Blazing speed and extreme durability are a given, but in the Mark III, Canon created the nearest thing to a true ‘hybrid’ camera we’ve seen to date.

In DSLR mode the EOS-1D X Mark III is a conventional pro camera, albeit an extremely good one. But with the mirror locked up in live view mode, it offers many of the advantages of a high-end mirrorless ILC. These include near full-frame autofocus coverage, sophisticated AF tracking courtesy of an advanced Dual-pixel CMOS autofocus system and silent shooting with a maximum frame-rate of 20fps. Oh, and up to 5.5K/60p Raw video. The vast majority of photographers won’t need many of this camera’s features, but for those that do, the EOS-1D X Mark III is up there with the best of the pro bodies currently available.

Read more about the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III

Winner: Canon EOS R5

The R5 is a more costly and pro-focused camera than the R6, and at the time of its announcement, the big news was its unique ability (among cameras of this type) to shoot 8K video. Arguably, though, 8K video is the least of the reasons to be interested in the EOS R5. Much more useful to most photographers is its excellent resolution, highly effective autofocus system (closing the gap substantially with Sony’s best-in-class implementation in the a9/II) and photographer-friendly ergonomics. As a stills and video tool for serious professional photography, the EOS R5 has a lot to offer, even if overheating concerns did take the shine off some of its headline video features (something which, to Canon’s credit, has been improved via firmware since its release).

It seems strange to talk about any company having ‘a good year’ given the unmitigated chaos of 2020, but for Canon it’s actually kind of true. Alongside the EOS-1D X Mark III and several excellent lenses, this was this year that Canon made its most convincing entry into serious full-frame mirrorless imaging with the winner of our 2020 DPReview Award for best high-end ILC – the EOS R5.

Read more about the Canon EOS R5

DPReview innovation award

Shortlist:

  • Canon EOS R5
  • Canon RF 600 & 800mm F11 IS STM
  • DJI Mavic Air 2
  • iPhone 12 Lineup

Runner-up: Canon RF 600/800mm F11 IS STM

While neither of these lenses will challenge more conventional, brighter-aperture telephoto primes for ultimate image quality, they’re unique in that they bring true, practical telephoto shooting into range for amateur and enthusiast photographers. Considering their reach, both lenses are relatively small and lightweight, and while F11 can be limiting, autofocus support (including even using the RF 2X converter on the EOS R5 and R6) and built-in image stabilization make them surprisingly versatile.

We’ve seen collapsing mechanisms in lenses before, and we’ve seen diffractive optics used to reduce the weight and complexity of telephoto lens designs. It’s the combination of the two technologies which makes the Canon RF 600mm and 800mm F11 IS STM so innovative, and so special.

Read more about the Canon RF 600mm and 800mm F11 IS STM

Winner: iPhone 12 Lineup

This year we’re awarding the entire Apple iPhone 12 lineup for our Innovation of the Year award, because it brings HDR to the masses. No, not the overly tone-mapped, flat HDR you’re thinking of. We’re talking about high dynamic range (HDR) display of both images and video. Like the previous two generations of iPhones, the iPhone 12 captures a wide dynamic range and tonemaps this large range into the final image. Under SDR viewing conditions (like your web browser) this can lead to high dynamic range images appearing somewhat flat. However, these very images viewed directly on iPhones with OLED displays appear quite the opposite of flat, with very bright brights (skies, clouds, lights) and dark shadows, thanks to HDR playback. HDR playback (like Dolby Vision/HDR10/HLG for video) tries to preserve the contrast between brights and darks to produce more realistic results, so that sunlit grass actually looks radiant compared to grass in the shadows, for example.

This year, down to its cheapest iPhone 12 Mini, Apple has included an HDR OLED display and Dolby Vision video. Apple has been displaying HDR stills since the iPhone X, but this is the first time it’s doing so across its entire lineup, and for video as well with Dolby Vision, a format that optimizes scene dynamic range on a frame-by-frame basis. Add to that the wide P3 color space used for both stills and video, and you have some of the nicest looking imagery from any device. Not to mention one you can carry in your pocket.

Read more about the Apple iPhone 12 line

DPReview product of the year 2020

Shortlist:

  • Canon EOS R6
  • Fujifilm X100V
  • Fujifilm X-S10
  • Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM

Runner-up: Fujifilm X-S10

The Fujifilm X-S10 might not bring much to the X-series lineup that’s genuinely ‘new’, but the way that its various features are packaged is extremely impressive – and very appealing. Built around a newly-designed compact IBIS system, the X-S10 breaks with Fujifilm’s traditional ‘traditional‘ control layout, offering a slightly more streamlined experience, more in line with competitive models.

These tweaks – plus a large, comfortable grip and a very attractive stills and video feature-set – make the X-S10 a seriously compelling camera for its price. The competition for our ‘Product of the Year’ award is always very tough, but the Fujifilm X-S10 beats out stiff competition to take the runner-up spot thanks to its uncommonly attractive suite of features, coupled with a great handling experience that make it a pleasure to shoot with.

Read more about the Fujifilm X-S10

Winner: Canon EOS R6

The Canon EOS R6 is one of relatively few cameras we’ve seen over the years which can genuinely be described as ‘multi-purpose’. While not class-leading in terms of resolution, 20MP is enough for most applications, especially when paired with such a powerful autofocus system, which rivals or outclasses the best of the R6’s competition at this price-point.

Designed as a ‘do-everything’ camera for both stills and occasional video shooters, the R6 offers a suite of advanced features in both modes. But arguably none of this would matter so much if it weren’t such a nice camera to use. The Canon EOS R6 is one of the most photographer (and videographer)-friendly cameras of its type, with performance that means it’s equally comfortable shooting sports and wildlife as it is covering weddings and events. It’s this combination of features, performance and excellent handling which make the Canon EOS R6 such a compelling camera, and the winner of this year’s DPReview Award for product of the year.

Read more about the Canon EOS R6

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: Winners and finalists of the 2020 Ocean Photographer of the Year awards

23 Nov

Winners and finalists of the 2020 Ocean Photographer of the Year awards

Oceanographic Magazine announced the winners and finalists for its annual Ocean Photographer of the Year awards. Over 3,000 images were submitted to six categories. Canadian photographer Nadia Aly was named Ocean Photographer of the Year and also received the Collective Portfolio award.

‘The photograph is perfectly exposed, compellingly dramatic and deeply intriguing. I know from experience that this image was not easy to create. Nadia Aly’s acknowledgement as the Ocean Photographer of the Year is a testament not only to the sheer power and uniqueness of her imagery, but to her journey as a photographer as well,’ says awards judge Cristina Mittermeier.

This top-down image of crabeater seals resting on icebergs has won Florian Ledoux many accolades, from international photography competitions, throughout the year.

Florian Ledoux, who received a third place nod in the Conservation category for his image (above) of crabeater seals resting on icebergs, told DPReview: ‘It gives my work even more exposure and a deep sense to it, and a bigger commitment toward conservation of the oceans’ ecosystems that makes our life possible on Earth. It is an honor be amongst very talented photographers working in the same direction with love for the planet.’

All winners, and highly commended images, can be viewed here.

Winner, The Ocean Photographer of the Year: Nadia Aly

Artist Statement: An aggregation of mobula rays in clear waters off Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Runner-Up, The Ocean Photographer of the Year: Sacha Specker

Artist Statement: Between two realms. A surfer seemingly waves to the world below as he surfs a wave at Log Cabins, Oahu, Hawaii.

Third Place, The Ocean Photographer of the Year: Magnus Lundborg

Artist Statement: A rare white southern right whale photographed off Puerto Pirámides, Argentina.

Winner, Young Photographer of the Year: Cruz Erdmann

Artist Statement: The silky tentacles of a brightly coloured Magnificent Anemone sway in surging water, exposing Maldivian anemone fish. Laamu Atoll, South Maldives.

Runner-Up, Young Photographer of the Year: Ben Cammarata

Artist Statement: A juvenile black skimmer hunts for prey at the water’s surface. Martha’s Vineyard, USA.

Third Place, Young Photographer of the Year: Kyla McKlay

Artist Statement: A dolphin breaches the waterline, USA.

Winner, Community Choice Award: Tobias Baumgaertner

Artist Statement: Two penguins look out across the water, Melbourne’s lights in the distance. St Kilda, Australia.

Winner, Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year: Matt Sharp

Artist Statement: A hermit crab crawls atop a pile of plastic in a shell made from manmade waste in the Maldives.


Runner-Up, Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year: Andrea Benvenutti

Artist Statement: A plastic bottle lies amongst the nests of the world’s largest colony of imperial cormorants, 100km south of Puerto Madryn, Argentina.


Third Place, Ocean Conservation Photographer of the Year: Joe Daniels

Artist Statement: A diver’s regulator holder cuts into the flesh of an oceanic whitetip shark, damaging its gills. Photographed in the Red Sea, Egypt.

Winner, Ocean Exploration Photographer of the Year: Ben Cranke

Artist Statement: Penguins march through heavy snowfall and strong winds in St. Andrews Bay, South Georgia, Antarctica.

Runner-Up, Ocean Exploration Photographer of the Year: Karim Iliya

Artist Statement: A freediver explores a cave in Tonga.

Winner, Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year: Jason Gulley

Artist Statement: A freediving instructor waits for their student to return from a dive below Cenote Angelita’s microbial cloud. Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

Runner-Up, Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year: Sean Scott

Artist Statement: Two sharks surf a wave at Red Bluff, Quobba Station, in remote Western Australia.

Third Place, Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year: Duncan Murrell

Artist Statement: Three spinetail devil rays engage in sexual courtship – a behavior rarely observed or photographed. Honda Bay, Philippines.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: Winners of the 2020 Int’l Photography Awards

30 Oct

Winners of the 2020 Int’l Photography Awards

This year’s International Photography Awards (IPA) received over 13,000 submissions from 120 countries. Judges selected winners and finalists for 13 categories and they were announced on Tuesday, October 27th.

‘In these unprecedented times, this year’s entries reflect some of the biggest challenges facing our generation–not the least of which is dealing with a virus which, for the first time, is an event that has affected every person on earth in some way. We see photography at its best–whether covering the COVID pandemic, or the world’s uprising against injustice–the images captured are breathtaking. I can easily say these are the best images I have seen in the last decades,’ says Hossein Farmani, IPA’s founder and president.

This slideshow contains images from Professional Category winners who received the Lucie Trophy and a $ 10,000 cash prize. The Non-Professional/Student Finalists for “DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR,” who were awarded a Lucie Trophy and $ 5,000 cash prize, can be found here. The final winners of the Pro and Non-Pro titles will be announced in an online event later this year and will be recognized at the Lucie Trophy at the 2021 Lucie Awards event.

Analog/Film Photographer Of the Year: ‘New Seas’ by Paulius Makauskas (Lithuania)

Artist Statement: Timothy Morton thinks of climate change as a ‘hyperobject’ – an incomprehensibly large object stretched in the space-time. Recognizable only in parts, but never all at once.

Microplastics are barely noticeable particles, but at the same time omnipresent in the ocean. I imagined them as synthetic plankton of all conceivable colors, invisibly wandering from one place to another. I have spent a great deal of time by the sea, so it was easier for me to see that the white ridges of waves creates boundless white-gray paper in space and time. I only needed to fill it with light to reveal the invisible.

Technical Info: 4×5, Fuji Provia 100, 40 – 50 min exposure, 210mm

Architecture Photographer Of the Year: ‘From the Stage’ by Jesús M. Chamizo (Spain)

Artist Statement: El teatro puede convertir el escenario en un templo, y el espacio de actuación, en algo sagrado. En el sur de Asia, los artistas tocan con reverencia el suelo del escenario antes de pisarlo, una antigua tradición donde se entrelazan lo espiritual y lo cultural.

Este es mi especial homenaje al Templo del Teatro y lo que representa, una noble labor cultural que ayuda a la humanidad a crecer. Contemplado desde el escenario, observamos ese majestuoso espacio vacío, que adquiere un doble significado. De asombro, pero también de esperanza, con este mensaje: ”La representación, sin duda…continuará.

Translated (Machine): The theater can turn the stage into a temple and the performance space into something sacred. In South Asia, artists reverently touch the floor of the stage before stepping on it, an ancient tradition where the spiritual and the cultural intertwine.

This is my special tribute to the Temple of the Theater and what it represents, a noble cultural work that helps humanity to grow. Contemplated from the stage, we observe that majestic empty space, which acquires a double meaning. Of astonishment, but also of hope, with this message: ”The performance, without a doubt… will continue.

Technical Info: Nikon, varias ópticas

Book Photographer Of the Year: ‘ANTARCTICA: The Waking Giant’ by Sebastian Copeland (Germany)

Artist Statement: This book documents over a decade’s worth of trips on and around Antarctica. While the coast stirs up visions of a lost world, it is the interior that hints to another planet. I spent 84 days crossing its lifeless plateau with no help but skis and kites.

Temperatures never warmed above -35C, a challenge on everything, particularly the equipment. My research gave me a deeper perspective on the variations taking place at the hands of climate change. The images I bring back tell the story of a changing environment which spells the oncoming re-drawing of the world’s map, and all that it implicates.

Deeper Perspective Photographer Of the Year: ‘Exodus’ by Nicolo Filippo Rosso (Columbia)

Artist Statement: This project chronicles the epic journey of the Venezuelan migrants, driven by desperation and hunger, at the stake of forces beyond their control. Two years ago, I decided to document their story and self-funded the project Exodus.

Spending weeks, and months at a time, in some of the border areas, I traveled alongside migrants who call themselves ‘the walkers.’ They were taking a long journey from the eastern Colombian border, through the Andes, up to the capital city, Bogotá. This series of photographs is the result of the time spent with them.

Editorial / Press Photographer Of the Year: ‘Pro Democracy Demonstrations, Hong Kong: The Revolution of Our Time’ by Kiran Ridley (France)

Artist Statement: On June 9th 2019, an estimated one million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to march in protest to the government’s proposed Extradition Bill, allowing citizens to be extradited to mainland China for prosecution.

Since that day, Hong Kong has been plunged into a political crisis, with waves of demonstrations and violent clashes between Police and protestors with an alarming rise in the number of police brutality and misconduct allegations, as protests morphed into a wider call for democratic rights and freedom in the semi-autonomous city.

Technical Info: Canon EOS 1Dx Mark ii, Canon 24-70mm f2.8L

Event Photographer of the Year: ‘Elements’ by Katja Ogrin (United Kingdom)

Artist Statement: Exploring the elements of live music performance such as water, fire, smoke and other pyro effects that enhance the visual impact for the viewing audience.

Fine Art Photographer of the Year: ‘Looking out from Within, 2020’ by Julia Fullerton-Batten (United Kingdom)

Artist Statement: Looking Out from Within, 2020 Covid-19 came. Life changed. Probably irrevocably. I felt numb. Couldn’t stand around helpless. I decided to document the new daily existence of millions. I advertised my idea on social media and through my local paper in West London. The response was enormous. Imprisoned in their home, they gaze forlornly out of their window onto a different desolate world outside.

Technical Info: f5.6, 1/30th sec.

Nature Photographer Of the Year: ‘Black Mountain’ by Ari Rex (Australia)

Artist Statement: On January 2019 Canberra had one of the most spectacular lightning storms ever. It passed the city from West to East over the black mountains and continued towards Brindabella mountains.

Technical Info: Canon EOS 5D Mark iii 88mm, x16, 4″, f5.6, ISO 640

People Photographer Of the Year: ‘Odilo Lawiny – Handmade Soccer Balls’ by Brian Hodges (Australia)

Artist Statement: Miles from the main roads in rural Uganda, soccer balls bounce unevenly. Playing fields are arid, lush, weedy, sandy—any flattish space will do. Some feet are bare, others shod in fraying sneakers, boots, or rubber sandals. Yet children kick and chase handmade, lopsided balls with skill and abandon, competing for pride and joy—for the sheer pleasure of playing.

The balls are spun into being with whatever’s at hand: rag or sock, tire or bark, plastic bag or banana leaves. Made entirely of recuperated materials, they give another life to something that would otherwise just be thrown away.

Technical Info: Leica S

Special Photographer Of the Year: ‘The Silent Menace’ by Toby Heikkila (Canada)

Artist Statement: An eerily quiet downtown Calgary during what normally is rush hour. The only inhabitant, a silent menace. Unseen and invisible.

Technical Info: Sony, 7rm2, FE 55mm f1.8

Sports Photographer Of the Year: ‘Bodies of the NFL’ by Howard Schatz (United States)

Artist Statement: The body type informs what position a player plays. The position necessitates the body type All NFL players.

Still in Motion / Video Photographer Of the Year: ‘The Journey to the Land of Dreams’ by Iwona Podlasinska (Poland)

Artist Statement: The video is a series of moving pictures that tell the story of an imaginary journey to the wintry land of dreams. Children shown in the photos travel by horses, trains or on foot to finally reach the land of imagination. The video was created by Zaman Dizini with photos taken by Iwona Podlasi?ska.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: Winners of the 1st annual Paris Aerial Photography Awards

21 Oct

Winners of the 1st annual Paris Aerial Photography Awards

Several thousand photos from 65 countries were submitted to the 1st annual Paris Aerial Photography Awards – a competition open to artists using drones, kites, balloons, helicopters, and planes to capture imagery. The jury, including From Where I Drone’s Dirk Dallas, Costas Spathis, Women Who Drone’s Elena Buenrostro, the Abstract Aerial Art team, and Florian Ledoux awarded 106 photos in 22 categories and 11 photographers in 6 master categories.

‘When I submitted my images to the Aerial Photography Awards I knew the competition was going to be fierce. The number of aerial photographers has grown exponentially in the past few years. The advent of high quality, inexpensive and easy to fly drones is the obvious cause. But it takes more than just good gear. The incredible images submitted to the competition shows the dedicated and talented artists that the Aerial Photography Awards attracts,’ Jamie Malcolm-Brown, who received a nod in the Special Mentions section, tells DPReview.

A few of the Master category winners include these photos, from left to right, in the Abandoned, Travel, and Cityscapes categories.

Sebastian Nagy was awarded overall Aerial Photographer of the Year. He got his start in aerial photography on city rooftops. Six of the images he submitted were category winners. Make sure you check out the Awarded Photographers, Aerial Photos of the Year, and Special Mentions.

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Daily Life: ‘The Lady of the Sea’ by Duy Sinh (Vietnam)

Artist Statement: A fishing boat is dropping a net and accidentally the waves pull the edges of the net into a lady on the blue sea. An accident of creation.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 2nd Place, Daily Life: ‘Anchovy Catching’ by Thien Nguyen (Vietnam)

Artist Statement: Soft light of new day illuminating the long smoke from fishing boat engine & the shape of green nets moving underneath the water surface when local fishermen pulling their nets.

Many local fisherman families along the coastline of Phu Yen province will follow the near-shore currents to catch the anchovy during peak season. Salted anchovy is the most important raw material to create traditional sh sauce – the spirit of Vietnamese cuisine.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Patterns: ‘Umbrella Crossing’ by Daniel Bonte (Japan)

Artist Statement: Crossing of umbrellas bring colors on a gray rainy canvas.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 2nd Place, Editorial: ‘Eid Congregation’ by Azim Khan Ronnie (Bangladesh)

Artist Statement: South Asia’s largest Eid-ul-Fitr Congregation held in Gor-e-Shahid Boro Math, Dinajpur, Bangladesh. According to the organizers’ claim, over 600,000 devotees participated in this Eid congregation. The prayers began at 8:30 am with devotees coming from different parts of the region. Eid-ul-Fitr is a Muslim festival of happiness celebrated all over the world.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Single Category Winner, Digitally Enhanced: ‘Airplanes’ by Cassio Vasconcellos (Brazil)

Artist Statement: These aerial images are all constructed after many different photos that I did flying by helicopter. All images presented here are done after 2015 but is impossible to determine just a one-day shooting since I use sometimes hundreds of photos.

Aerial Photography Technique: Helicopter

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Documentary: ‘Fire Attack’ by Marc LeCornu (Jersey)

Artist Statement: Firefighters from the Jersey Airport Rescue & Firefighting Service work as a team to attack a simulated aircraft response. These live response scenarios are designed to ensure the crews are fully skilled and ready should a real incident occur.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Waterscapes: ‘Arctic Paradise’ by Kyle Vollaers (United Kingdom)

Artist Statement: This image was taken o the coast of Qeqertarsuaq in -25° celsius. One of the most beautiful yet abstract places I’ve ever seen.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Landscapes: ‘Skyggnisvatn’ by Sebastian Müller (Switzerland)

Artist Statement: The Highlands of Iceland.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Trees & Forests: ‘Forest Path’ by Mehmet Aslan (Turkey)

Artist Statement: Herd of sheep uses forest road to return home.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Abstract: ‘Tatacoa Desert’ by Johan Van Den Hecke (Belgium)

Artist Statement: A topdown view of the rock formations of the Tatacoa desert at sunset.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020, 1st Place, Accommodations: ‘Colors of Dubai’ by Kevin Krautgartner (Germany)

Artist Statement: Real estate shooting for accommodations in the Burj Khalifa.

Aerial Photography Technique: High point of view.

Special Mention: ‘Love Island’ by Jamie Malcolm-Brown (United States)

Artist Statement: The fog dissipated as the sun rose behind some storm clouds over this heart-shaped island.

Aerial Photography Technique: Drone

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: The hilarious finalists for the Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

03 Oct

Finalists for the Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Finalists for the annual Comedy Pet Photo Awards were recently announced. Founded by the creators of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, the competition is now in its second year. Over 2,000 images of pets were submitted from 81 countries. The aim is to showcase the impact pets have on our lives and to raise awareness around animal homelessness in the United Kingdom. 10% of all entry fees were donated to national pet charity Blue Cross.

‘The entries this year have been completely and utterly what we needed to raise our spirits in 2020. It has been a tough year for many, but these images have not only made us laugh out loud, but also re-affirmed our desire to drastically reduce animal cruelty and pet orphanage. The positive movement created by this competition is so uplifting and hopefully we can achieve a similar reaction from all who see this competition,’ says Sullam.

Category and Overall Winners will be announced on November 24th. All 40 finalists can be viewed on the Comedy Pet Photo Awards site.

Finalist: ‘Gossip Girls’ by Magdalena Strakova

©Magdalena Strakova/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Czech Republic

Artist Statement: I was photographing horses in a pasture, and these three got together and appeared to have a chat, gossipping like giggling schoolgirls.

Finalist: ‘Saint Paul’s Cap’ by Alex Class

©Alex Class/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: London

Artist Statement: I’ve always been keen on architectural photography, on leading lines, on creative perspectives. I had a walk around London with Kyte and his owners. Kyte is a lovely 9-year-old Weimaraner. I had been eying up this spot for a while and just waiting for the right face to wear Saint Paul’s cupola.

Finalist: ‘Drama Queen’ by Anne Lindner

©Anne Lindner/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Germany

Artist Statement: There is almost nothing more beautiful than to see a hearty yawn of a rabbit.

Finalist: ‘Ohhhhhhhhh’ by Dimpy Bhalotia

©Dimpy Bhalotia/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: India

Artist Statement: This happened in a fraction of a second and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Finalist: ‘Over Dramatic Cat’ by Iain McConnell

©Iain McConnell/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Wales

Artist Statement: Edmund being dramatic.

Finalist: ‘The Dancing Kitten’ by Iain McConnell

©Iain McConnell/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Wales

Artist Statement: Edmund playing with his toy.

Finalist: ‘Shocked Mastiff’ by Annett Mirsberger

©Annett Mirsberger/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Germany

Artist Statement: During a photoshoot, this gorgeous mastiff made some funny faces – I hope not because of me …!?

Finalist: ‘The Funny Amorgos Donkey’ by Boris Purmann

©Boris Purmann/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Island of Amorgos, Greece

Artist Statement: 2016 at the greek Island Amorgos. We hiked from Aegiali to Langada and I made some Pics with my Mobile of a Donkey Group. In the last Picture it looks like that the Donkey was friendly and smiling to us. So I realise that I have to make more of this.

In 2019 we meet the Donkey Owners, they have a nice Tavern in Langada TAVERNA LOUDAROS and they told us the name of the Donkeys. From righti to left: Sister Nefeli, Mother Floredia and SOSO!

Finalist: ‘Isolated Dog’ by Ilana Rose

©Ilana Rose/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Australia

Artist Statement: Isolated Vizla dog in lockdown, a reflection on how we all feel in this year of lockdowns due to COVID-19 world wide.

Finalist: ‘Happy Akira’ by Jasmin Haecker

©Jasmin Haecker/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Artist Statement: Our Shiba girl Akira loves to smile… we finally managed to capture this lovely unforgettable moment at Granddad’s grill party.

Finalist: ‘Hold on Tight! We’re Running Late!’ by Karen Hoglund

©Karen Hoglund/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: United States

Artist Statement: Dani, the puppy, hangs on for her life when Gabby is at the wheel. (The car wasn’t actually moving so it wasn’t really scary.) We intended to take a photo of the dogs looking at the camera but both pups looked forward instead which was much funnier!

Just to be on the safe side, we kept both dogs on leashes. What you can’t see in these photos is my husband crouched down in the back seat, holding both dogs leashes. He is such a good sport!

Finalist: ‘Friends Don’t Let Friends Do Silly Things Alone’ by Kerstin Ordelt

©Kerstin Ordelt/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Austria

Artist Statement: This photo is an outtake. Actually, the dogs tried to hug and thats what happend 🙂 The picture was taken in Linz (Austria) in a pedestrian zone early in the morning.

Finalist: ‘Why Are You Upside Down Mum?’ by Malgorzata (Gosia) Russell

©Malgorzata (Gosia) Russell/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Scotland

Artist Statement: This our one year old still kitten cat Basil. He is very playful, agile and loves our garden we used a lot during lockdown. It is our daily, morning routine to chase each other around the garden. Picture is not photoshopped.

Finalist: ‘Smile’ by Mehmet Aslan

©Mehmet Aslan/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Turkey

Artist Statement: The horse’s smile and the dog that makes it strange.

Finalist: ‘Funny Horse’ by Peter von Shnen

©Peter von Shnen/Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards 2020

Location: Germany

Artist Statement: This horse is already 24 years old. He moved in with me and he likes it very much. Me too.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: Winners of the 2020 Drone Photo Awards from Siena Awards

30 Sep

Winners of the 2020 Drone Photo Awards from Siena Awards

Winners for the 6th edition of the Drone Photo Awards competition, affiliated with the Siena International Photo Awards competition (you can view winners of the Creative Photo Awards here), were recently announced. Entries were sent in by drone photographers from 126 countries. ‘Love Heart of Nature’ by Australian photographer Jim Picôt, which depicts a shark swimming inside a heart–shaped salmon school, was recognized as the Overall Winner.

The awards are divided into 9 categories: Abstract, Empty Cities: Life during COVID-19, Nature, People, Sports, Series, Urban Architecture, Wedding, and Animals. All 45 winning images will be displayed at the ‘Above Us Only Sky’ exhibition, scheduled from October 24th to November 29th at the ‘Accademia dei Fisiocritici’ museum in Siena, Italy.

Overall Winner: ‘Love Heart of Nature’ by Jim Picôt

Location: Avoca Beach, NSW, Australia

Description: In winter, a shark is inside a salmon school when, chasing the baitfish, the shape became a heart shape.

Winner, Wedding: ‘Tropical Bride’ by Mohamed Azmeel

Location: (Not given)

Description: I used the flowers and the leaves leftover from the decoration of a wedding, to make something creative.

Winner, Abstract: ‘Swirl’ by Boyan Orste

Location: Pink Lake, Australia

Description: An abstract shot of a Pink lake chemical reaction in Western Australia.

Winner, Nature: ‘Coffee or Tea’ by Yi Sun

Location: Brazil

Description: (Not given)

Winner, Wildlife: ‘Outer Space Flamingos’ by Paul McKenzie

Location: Lake Natron, Tanzania

Description: (Not given)

Winner, Life Under COVID-19: ‘Black Flag’ by Tomer Appelbaum

Location: Israel

Description: Thousands of Israelis maintain social distancing due to Covid-19 restrictions while protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Rabin Square on 19 April 2020.

Winner, Sport: ‘On the Sea’ by Roberto Corinaldesi

Location: Cornwall, United Kingdom

Description: An aerial view of swimmers, where the sea becomes the place to take refuge, between the blue carpet and the white foam of the waves.

Winner, People: ‘Frozen Land’ by Alessandra Meniconzi

Location: Eurasian Steppe

Description: With temperatures of minus 30°C, winters in the Eurasian steppe can be brutal. But life doesn’t stop, and local people move from one village to another with a sledge, crossing icy rivers and lakes.

Winner, Urban: ‘Alien Structure on Earth’ by Tomasz Kowalski

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Description: Sometimes we need to change the perspective to feel the strength of the structure stronger than we’ve ever thought. The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers, are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur.

Winner, Wedding: ‘The Wedding Crashers’ by David Gallardo

Location: Turks & Caicos Islands

Description: (Not given)

Winner, Life Under COVID-19: ‘Lonely Guardian’ by Mauro Pagliai

Location: Siena, Italy

Description: (Not given)

Winner, Sport: ‘Ball Up’ by Brad Walls

Location: Sydney, Australia

Description: The physical motions of the tennis player against the clean abstract lineage of the court created a harmonious effect to the eye.

Winner, Abstract: ‘Fishing At Jamuna River’ by MD Tanveer Hassan Rohan

Location: Bogra, Bangladesh

Description: (Not given)

Winner, Urban: ‘Sunrise on the Top’ by Rex Zou

Location: Shanghai, China

Description: At 4:30 in the morning, mysteriously shrouded in clouds, this is what the second tallest building in Shanghai looks like.

Winner, People: ‘Mountains of Salt’ by Igor Altuna

Location: Thi Xa Ninh Hoa, Vietnam

Description: An aerial picture taken on a saltern near a small town on central Vietnam’s coast.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: Finalists for the 2020 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

12 Sep

Finalists for the 2020 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards recently announced its 44 top images for 2020. Finalists include a smiley fish, a fox in negotiations with a mouse, and a photobombing giraffe. Founded by photographers and conservationists Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, the global competition is free to enter and aims to showcase the funniest takes on animals in the wild.

The top prize includes a week-long safari in Kenya. There is also a People’s Choice Award that anyone can vote for by clicking on their favorite image. Category and Overall Winners, chosen by a panel of judges including the competition founders, along with the Telegraph’s online travel editor, Oliver Smith, will be announced October 22nd.

Finalist: ‘Smiley’ by Arthur Telle Thiemenn

Animal: Sparisoma cretense

Location of Shot: El Hierro, Canary Islands

Finalist: ‘Tough Negotiations’ by Ayala Fishaimer

Animal: Fox

Location of Shot: Israel

Finalist: ‘Spreading the Wildlife Gossip’ by Bernhard Esterer

Animal: Lions

Location of Shot: Kalahari Desert

Finalist: ‘Crashing into the Picture’ by Brigitte Alcalay Marcon

Animal: Giraffe

Location of Shot: Etosha National Park, Nambia

Finalist: ‘I Could Puke’ by Christina Holfelder

Animal: Gentoo penguin

Location of Shot: Falkland Islands

Finalist: ‘The Inside Joke’ by Femke van Willigen

Animal: Eurasian red squirrel

Location of Shot: Espelo, the Netherlands

Finalist: ‘Lamentation!’ by Jacques Poulard

Animal: Polar bear

Location of Shot: Spitzberg, Germany

Finalist: ‘Like Mother, Like Daughter’ by Jagdeep Rajput

Animal: Asian elephant

Location of Shot: Corbett National Park, India

Finalist: ‘Just Chillin” by Jill Neff

Animal: Racoon

Location of Shot: Jackson, Ohio, USA

Finalist: ‘I Think this Tyre’s Gonna be Flat’ by Kay Kotzian

Animal: Grizzly bears

Location of Shot: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA

Finalist: ‘Having a Laugh’ by Ken Crossan

Animal: Common seal

Location of Shot: Caithness, Scotland

Finalist: ‘Wait up Mommy, Look What I Got for You!’ by Kunal Gupta

Animal: Elephant

Location of Shot: Kaziranga, India

Finalist: ‘Terry the Turtle Flipping the Bird’ by Mark Fitzpatrick

Animal: Turtle

Location of Shot: Lady Elliot Island, Queensland Australia

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Slideshow: Nature inFocus Photography Awards 2020 winners and finalists

10 Sep

Nature inFocus Photography Awards 2020 winners and finalists

Winners and finalists were announced for the latest annual Nature inFocus Photography Awards. Due to the pandemic, the festival was cancelled and selections were shared via a live announcement on YouTube. More than 1,600 photographers submitted roughly 14,000 images from around the world.

A 5-member jury, including nature photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee, picked winners and finalists. Yashpal Rathore won for his image depicting a bad frozen against an urban landscape in Bangalore, India. A Special Jury Award was given, for the very first time, to Magnus Lundgren as 3 of his photographs were selected – 2 are featured in this slideshow.

The Nature inFocus Photography Awards aims to recognize photographers whose work helps preserve our natural history and raise awareness around conservation. A full gallery can be viewed here.

Winner, Wildscape & Animals in Habitat & Nature inFocus Photograph of the Year: The Dark Knight’ by Yashpal Rathore

Location: Bangalore, India

Artist Statement: A Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat drops out of a Singapore Cherry tree on the walkway of a busy street in the capital city of Karnataka. The headlamp streak of a speeding vehicle, the neon lights of business hoardings – the long-exposure shot perfectly captures the dynamism of city life.

The ever-growing city has seen these nocturnal winged mammals adapt to the chaos of the urban environment. Though vilified by much of the human population, bats play a vital role in our ecosystem as seed dispersers and pest-controllers. The photographer used a laser trigger and low-powered flashlights to freeze the bat in its flight.

Winner, Creative Nature Photography: ‘A Mirage In The Night’ by Nayan Jyoti Das

Location: Manas National Park, Assam

Artist Statement: Occasionally, nature surprises us with moments so dramatic and beautiful, like right out of a fairytale. Caught in the warm embrace of a posse of fireflies, a family of wild elephants huddles together under the night sky, mirroring the asterism of Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka of Orion above.

Special Mention, Creative Nature Photography: ‘Order in Chaos’ by Jayesh Joshi

Location: Vadodara, Gujarat

Artist Statement: Rosy Starlings perch on the edge of a parapet like substitute players on the bench, waiting to join in the action. The long exposure shot captures the frenzy of the murmuration above, hundreds of starlings swooping across the sky in intricately coordinated patterns.

Runner-up, Animal Portraits: ‘The Boxer’ by Mofeed Abu Shalwa

Location: Qatif, Saudi Arabia

Artist Statement: The Red Palm Weevil is a species of snout beetle, recognised by its distinctive long snout and geniculate antennae. First reported on coconut trees in Southeast Asia, they have since gained a foothold on date palms in several Middle Eastern countries and have spread to Africa and Europe through the movement of infected planting material.

Special Mention, Animal Portraits: ‘Monsoon Matchmaking’ by Ripan Biswas

Location: Cooch Behar, West Bengal

Artist Statement: Pre-monsoon storms known as ‘Kalboishakhi’ in Bengali bring the first rains after months of the dry season. The skies open up with thunder and lightning, announcing the arrival of the mating season for amphibians. This single exposure image of a Fejervarya sp. was made by shifting focus initially from the frog and then on to the clouds.

Winner, Animal Behavior: ‘The Hitchhiker’ by Magnus Lundgren

Location: Balayan Bay, Luzon, Philippines

Artist Statement: The Brown Paper Nautilus is an argonaut, a free-swimming octopus of open ocean habitats. A species that is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific Ocean, the Brown Paper Nautilus is known to cling to objects floating on the surface of the sea, including other argonauts. Here a female nautilus is seen surfing on a free-floating medusa.

Though the relationship is not fully understood yet, the nautilus is believed to use its host as a food source and as a defensive weapon. When the nautilus was photographed, it used the medusa as an active form of protection by turning it towards the camera, which it presumably perceived as a potential predator.

Second Runner-up, Animal Behavior: ‘Water Wars’ by Chaitanya Rawat

Location: Jhalana Forest, Jaipur

About this Photo: On a hot day in the forests of Jhalana, with temperatures touching 45ºC, the photographer waited under the shade of a tree near a man-made waterhole. His patience was rewarded when a leopard slid down the rocks like melted wax and strolled towards the waterhole.

His camera zoomed in on the spotted, ochre and black coat as he watched the gorgeous feline drink its fill. Suddenly, the scene turned electric as a Striped Hyena made an appearance, unaware of the presence of the cat. Expecting the hyena to quickly slink away, the photographer was surprised to watch it go on the offensive and chase the leopard up a tree. The hyena then drank its fill and moved away.

Special Mention, Animal Behavior: ‘Breed The Red’ by Varun Thakkar

Location: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Artist Statement: A Southern Ground-hornbill, the largest hornbill species on Earth, feeds its young one. Found in grasslands, woodlands and open savannas of southern Africa, they are recognizable by their jet black feathers and the bright red throat wattle in males. Juveniles instead have yellow patches on the face and throat. Pollution, logging and agricultural expansion which often destroy nesting habitats are the primary threats for this species.

Winner, Conservation Issues: ‘Circle Of Death’ by Srikanth Mannepuri

Location: Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh

Artist Statement: Fishermen surround the lifeless body of a Mobula Ray at a fish landing site in Kakinada as they determine its value in thousands of rupees. The winner of the auction will then prepare the fish and trade it illegally to Southeast Asian countries for high-profit margins. The gill rakers of the Mobula Ray is believed to hold medicinal properties.

Second Runner-up, Conservation Issues: ‘Plastic Surfer’ by Magnus Lundgren

Location: Balayan Bay, Luzon, Philippines

Artist Statement: A male paper nautilus rides a piece of plastic in the pelagic zone. In the ocean, plastic debris injures and kills fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Marine plastic pollution has impacted at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species and 43% of all marine mammal species.

Winner, Young Photographer: ‘Dust To Dust’ by Sitara Karthikeyan

Location: Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand

Artist Statement: A majestic tusker walking head-on towards the photographer showers himself in dust sprayed from his trunk. Elephants dust bathe to keep their skin healthy and to keep parasites at bay. It also helps them to cool down their bodies.

Second Runner-up, Young Photographer: ‘Harmony In Faith’ by Abhikram Shekhawat

Location: Jaipur, Rajasthan

Artist Statement: A large population of Rhesus Macaques rules the Aravalli landscape, which is also home to the renowned Galtaji temple. Though these monkeys create a lot of nuisance, they are treated respectfully by the devotees who visit the temple to worship the monkey god, Hanuman. Photographed here is a female Rhesus Macaque sitting in front of the glorious temple edifice.

Special Mention, Young Photographer: ‘Catch The Sun’ by Sumit Adhikary

Location: Indian Ocean, Maldives

Artist Statement: A breaching Spinner Dolphin casts a striking silhouette against the light reflecting off the deep blue ocean from the setting sun. Breaching is a very common activity among cetaceans, and though there are a number of hypotheses, scientists still really don’t know why they do it.

Second Runner-up, Wildscape & Animals in Habitat: ‘Cinderella Of The Ghats’ by Mandar Ghumare

Location: Coorg, Karnataka

Artist Statement: A terrestrial snail endemic to the Western Ghats, Indrella ampulla is the only species in the monotypic genus, Indrella. The species is polymorphic – the visible soft parts of the snail show great colour diversity, ranging from pale yellow to red like in this particular individual. The wide frame showcases the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats which it calls home.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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