Wildlife Photographer of the Year - Overall Winner. Snowstorm leopard © Steve Winter / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008
Exhibition Review - Jennie Gillions enjoys the world of nature at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum (until April 26, 2009)
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is widely recognised as the most prestigious in its field, and this exhibition of the best entries takes its eminent position seriously.
The familiar theme appeals to people who would not otherwise visit photography exhibitions and organisers have worked hard to offer an experience, rather than simply a collection of photographs.
Luring visitors in with jungle sounds and music is perhaps a little gimmicky, but it's inoffensive enough. In the centre of the room an interactive section allows visitors to comment on the photographs and email themselves their favourites.
Inevitably, some of the comments are fairly inane, but this is a well thought out way of spreading the exhibition to inboxes all over the world. There is also a chance to view a slideshow of the best images from the competition’s last 20 years which are well worth a look and accompanied by a book for those with cash to spare.
Animal Portraits - Winner. Troublemaker. © Stefano Unterthiner / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008
The main exhibition is divided into 17 competition categories, with the top entries from each on view. Mostly displayed on monitors rather than in standard frames, the exhibits take on the personas of high-definition stills from a documentary, showcasing colours beautifully.
Below each photograph is a map of where it was taken, emphasising the global appeal of this competition and the story behind it. Though simply written, the explanatory paragraphs help to fulfil the Natural History Museum’s aim of teaching people about the natural world, as well as demonstrating the lengths some photographers go to for these wonderful images.
Steve Winter, whose Snowstorm Leopard was the overall competition winner, braved several months in northern India’s -40°C temperatures to get his picture. To capture Osprey Snatch, Paul Hobson spent five days living in a hide in Finland.
The photographs encompass an awesome range of subject matter, from the comparatively mundane (Car-park Robins) to the sadly rare (Battle of the Bears).
This year's competition had 32,351 entries, from which judges picked those whose "creativity, originality and drama" set them apart; unsurprisingly, then, the chosen few on display are stunning, for a variety of reasons unique to each.
Animal Behaviour: All Other Animals - Winner. Deadlock. © David Maitland / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008
Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Catriona Parfitt brings Namibia to glorious dusty life in The Show; Ira Meyer’s Window on the Ice Melt is curiously ethereal; David Maitland’s Deadlock is a fascinating, vivid representation of reptilian combat.
Some photographs are frankly comical (Adriano Ebenriter’s Owl Glare; Stefano Unterthiner’s Troublemaker). Big Baby Nap, by Claudio Contreras Koob, is adorable, despite the comment saying that the baby seal pictured was left vulnerable to sharks while its mother hunted.
Nature’s battle to survive on Earth is a constant theme. Jamie McGregor Smith shows a fern’s triumphant colonisation of a derelict house in New Occupant; Florian Schulz’s Wolf-watch is concerned with grey wolves’ struggle to survive Alaskan winters.
The photographers recognise their subjects’ achievements. Koos van de Lende’s explanation of Bottle in the Wind, featuring a lone tree in Namibia, reads: ‘I was just so amazed that this empty, barren world could be home to such a fat, happy little tree.’
Van de Lende’s joy at nature’s resilience is balanced by an unapologetically gruesome illustration of human destruction. David Maitland’s Sacrifice, in the One Earth Award category, shows a black colobus monkey, thrown onto a fire in Gabon. Its head, upside down, stares blankly at the viewer.
The accompanying paragraph highlights how Africa’s illegal bushmeat trade is threatening primate species with extinction.
The Underwater World - Specially Commended. Sea of life © Brian Skerry / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008
Part of Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s appeal is its ability to engage previously uninformed visitors with such issues; as judge Mark Carwardine says: “Nothing speaks louder than an evocative photograph that stirs the imagination, tugs at the heart strings and engages the mind.”
The Gerald Durrell Award for Endangered Wildlife should thus offer further insights into the plight of rare species. There are however only two species shown here; three of the four photographs are of snow leopards, the other a Sulawesi black-crested macaque.
On one hand it’s refreshing to see that the judges chose the ‘best’ ones, and were not impaired by Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s status as a platform. On the other, if they want to spread the word about endangered animals they have missed an opportunity here.
From Steve Winter to Alessandro Oggioni, winner of the ’10 years and under’ category, this exhibition connects visitors with the beauty, violence, fragility and power of our environment.
Yes, primarily this is a showcase for the best in global wildlife photography, but it also succeeds in perfectly articulating our responsibility to respect wildlife, and preserve it for future generations of Wildlife Photographer of the Year visitors.
Admission is £7 for adults, £3.50 concessions and £18 for a family ticket (up to two adults and up to three children).
