Seemingly gravity-defying canines, stunning close-ups of insects and mesmerising safari silhouettes — these are among the winning snaps in the nature categories of the 2021 International Photography Awards.
The annual contest — which is in its 19th iteration this year — was established to promote the appreciation of photography, discover emerging talent and salute the achievements of the world’s finest photographers.
It is open to all photographers, including professional and amateur, as well students.
The title of ‘Nature Photographer of the Year’ was awarded to Dutch photographer Liselotte Schuppers, who dazzled the judges with her breath-taking monochrome equine-themed photo, which she titled ‘Beyond Horses’.
‘I am fascinated by Baroque Friesian stallions,’ Ms Schuppers said. ‘In this image I work with the horses in a studio setting where I have encounters with real personalities and their emotions.’
Seemingly gravity-defying canines, stunning close-ups of insects and mesmerising safari silhouettes — these are among the winning snaps in the nature categories of the International Photography Awards. Pictured: ‘Happiness’ by Claudio Piccoli
The annual contest — which is in its 19th iteration this year — was established to promote the appreciation of photography, discover emerging talent and salute the achievements of the of the world’s finest photographers. Pictured: Maya Maymoniâ’s shot entitled ‘Savanna Storm’ took third place in the ‘Professional Nature, Wildlife’ category
The International Photography Awards is open to photographers of all types, including professionals, amateurs and student artists. Pictured: Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz’s series of insect close-ups took third place in the Macro category
The title of ‘Nature Photographer of the Year’ was awarded to Dutch photographer Liselotte Schuppers, who dazzled the judges with her breath-taking monochrome equine-themed photo, which she titled ‘Beyond Horses’, pictured. Ms. Schuppers stated that she is fascinated by Baroque Friesian Stallions. ‘In this image I work with the horses in a studio setting where I have encounters with real personalities and their emotions’
Pictured: Teguh Aria Djana’s ‘Singing in the Rain’ received an honourable mention. ‘When it was rain, two frogs were found under the leaves. I am lucky enough to capture one of them opening its mouth like singing a song,’ he said
Pictured: Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz’s series on insect close-ups won third place under the Macro category
Wildlife photographer Bence Mate of Hungary secured second place in the ‘Professional Nature, Sunset’ category for his collection of safari-esque silhouettes taken in the uMkhuze Game Reserve, in South Africa.
Exposure for the background is key to creating a successful silhouette, Mr Bence explained.
“When exposed correctly, the foreground subjects will be reduced by ten stops, rendering them solid black.”
He continued, “When low sunlight illuminates cloud, dust, water grains in the atmosphere, vivid yellow, red and pink tones appear.”
“This phenomenon is very short-lived so each image required careful planning and sometimes many sessions to capture the images I wanted to achieve.”
The ‘Professional Nature, Macro’ category honoured snapshots of some of the planet’s tiniest creatures — with its first place going to Germany’s Adalbert Mojrzisch for his close-ups of bug eyes.
‘If you examine insects at high magnifications beautiful structures and colours will emerge. Especially the eyes are very interesting,’ Mr Mojrzisch said.
“Photographing fine details requires special equipment. Some of these I designed and built myself. I use a selfmade photo tube, corrected to infinity by microscope lenses, and mount them on a homemade rail.
“Each image is composed of many individual images that are stacked together and stitched together.”
Third place in the macro category, meanwhile, went to self-taught photographer Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz of Bilbao, Spain for his up-close-and-personal series of insects, all shot against colourful backdrops.
Pedro stated, “Macro photography allows for you to see amazing portraits these insects, damselflies spiders, butterflies and beetles.”
Third place in the macro category, meanwhile, went to self-taught photographer Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz of Bilbao, Spain for his up-close-and-personal series of insects, all shot against colourful backdrops. Pedro stated that macro photography allows you to capture amazing portraits of these insects (damselflies, spiders and butterflies, as well as beetles)
Bence Mate, a Hungarian wildlife photographer, won second place in ‘Professional Nature Sunset’ for his collection of safari-esque silhouettes, taken in the uMkhuze Wildlife Reserve, South Africa.
Kristin Schnell placed third in the Professional Nature Animals/Pets’ category for her series entitled ‘Not Good Enough. The images were all of animals who once suffered as a result of not being valued by their owners — but have since found happiness in a sanctuary
Andrew Doggett said that his series, ‘Exceptional Creatures’, was ‘a timeless ode to the most extraordinary — and often endangered — animals in the world.’ It was 2nd in the ‘Professional Nature, Wildlife’ category.
Pictured: a snap of a larval North Pacific Giant Octopus, captured by Sayaka Ichinoseki
‘Photography — the universal language in a still image — conveys a message to make us: buy, desire, transport ourselves to a place, be aware, rally for or against, stir us, inspire us, enrage us, even revolt us and make us want to turn away,’ said International Photography Awards head judge Susan Baraz.
She continued, “The image is ingrained in us minds, and we are transformed by it.”
“Thanks for photographers, our individual universe has been expanded via their remarkable insight and sight.”
‘Photography — the universal language in a still image — conveys a message to make us: buy, desire, transport ourselves to a place, be aware, rally for or against, stir us, inspire us, enrage us, even revolt us and make us want to turn away,’ said International Photography Awards judge Susan Baraz. Pictured: one of Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz’s winning macro shots
Exposure for the background is key to creating a silhouette that is successful, Mr Bence explained. When exposed correctly, foreground subjects can be underexposed by ten stops rendering them as black solid. Pictured: One of Mr Bence’s shots
Animals (such as these dogs, shot by Tianhand Zhang) didn’t just take first place in the Nature category. Mattia Gorno, Italy’s shot showing a dog catching frisbees (right), won first place in the “Professional Sports, Other” category.
Pictured: one of Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz’s award winning and colourful insect close-ups
Pictured: ‘Underwater’, by South Africa’s Alfred Minnaar, took 3rd place in the ‘Professional Nature, Underwater’ category. He said: ‘Cruising Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia we came across something special, it is not often that you come across a bait ball like this and we were pleasantly surprised when we did. The fish would move in sync as you would swim through them almost like they were programmed and they would create amazing patterns as they make way for the person swimming. The elegance of my freediver Elle moving through the water with grace, the light, watercolour and fish movement truly came together in a once in a lifetime shot for me.’
Pictured: in ‘Cozy’ by Xu Cheng, a well-fed crab-eating seal yawns on the ice of Antarctica
Animals did not only take the top spots in the nature category — with Mattia Gorno of Italy’s shot of a dog catching a frisbee taking first place in the ‘Professional Sports, Other’ category.
‘This shot was one of my first in this discipline, and I am particularly attached to this image,’ said Mr Gorno.
Disc Dog is a fantastic sport and the complicity of the combination is certainly one of the most interesting emotions to tell.’
Mr Gorno’s fellow countryman, Claudio Piccoli, was awarded an Honourable Mention in the same category for a photograph of his pet dog leaping through the air.
‘Dogs love running in freedom in the forest and I think we should learn from them how to enjoy more about life in a simple and pure way!’ Mr Piccoli said.
Pictured: ‘In these images, lions, giraffes, or mountain gorillas serve as symbols of strength and wonder roaming the remaining wild expanses of our planet, evolving to thrive in places that push the limits of survival,’ said Andrew Doggett of his series ‘Exceptional Creatures’, which took 2nd place in the ‘Professional Nature, Wildlife’ category
Pictured: Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz’s colourful and award-winning insect close-ups
‘When low sunlight illuminates clouds, dust and water grains in the air, vivid yellow, red, pink and purple tones appear, said Mr Mate of his sunset images. ‘As this phenomenon is short-lived, each image required careful planning, and sometimes many sessions were needed to capture the images that I had set out to achieve.’
‘Egrets live in rice fields, lakes, swamps and tidal flats, and nest on trees and bamboo forests near the villages,’ said photographer Ling Jyi Chao. ‘They breed in May and June each year. At this time, they will grow feathers.’
‘Taken whilst on a trip to the Shetland Isles. To be able to capture what goes on under the water after a Gannt has dived was an unbelievable experience,’ said Tracey Lund, whose photo ‘Underwater Gannets’ made the Jury’s ‘Top 5 Selection’
Pictured: Bence Mate’s ‘Sundown’ captures two elephants silhouetted against the setting South African sun
Pictured: Jose Luis Ruiz Jimenez submitted a series of shots of Great Crested Grebes living in eastern Spain
Pictured: Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz’s colourful and award-winning insect close-ups
Pictured: Michelle Dawkins’ ‘I Still Have You’. The artist explained that the move they performed during the shoot was called a footstall and requires a lot coordination between dog and owner. This shot was achieved by waiting for the right lighting conditions with the sun setting and the tide going down. I directed them to perform this move in water when the tide was just right. I hope you are able see the focus and the connection these two have in the photograph.
Pictured: a giraffe is captured in silhouette in front of the setting sun over the uMkhuze Game Reserve, in South Africa in this award-winning photograph by Bence Mate
Pictured: A gorilla looks at the camera in this shot taken by Andrew Doggett from his series ‘Exceptional Creatures.
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