European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013

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Chas Moonie

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http://new.gdtfoto.de/en/gdt-european-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2013/#!prettyPhoto

Some different photos selected in these awards, some a bit too "arty" for me .

Does anyone have any opinions on the Badger/Star trail photo under the mammals heading?

I wondered how it was possible without the use of stuffed badgers till it was pointed out that under the rules that:-

"HDR images, stitched panoramas and images using focus stacking as well as multiple
exposures (for all these techniques the requirement is that all images were taken at the
same location at approximately the same time"
Approximate is a rather loose term I would suggest ?

All way beyond my basic knowledge as a beginner to photography, I am still of the opinion that wildlife photography involves stealth and field craft and luck.

This arty stuff is lost on me, although it might look good and different ?
 
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Well I don't particularly like it if I am honest. The balance between light and dark doesn't work for me. Add to that the fact that a shot like that is not possible with live animals and it is just stretching the truth a bit too much.

As for the rules, well that can sometimes be the problem with some of these competitions - the rules can be vague and down to interpretation.
 
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graphilly said:
Well I don't particularly like it if I am honest. The balance between light and dark doesn't work for me. Add to that the fact that a shot like that is not possible with live animals and it is just stretching the truth a bit too much.

As for the rules, well that can sometimes be the problem with some of these competitions - the rules can be vague and down to interpretation.
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The badgers were real I believe, but its two images stuck together
 
Chas Moonie said:
The badgers were real I believe, but its two images stuck together
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I think.... for a wildlife image, it should be one image, and minimal processing, how can it be classed as a 'real image' otherwise?......I don't have the skills to put two images together....
 
Chas Moonie said:
The badgers were real I believe, but its two images stuck together
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Yes, and that is what I mean. Knowing that it can't be achieved in reality just shines through in the image. He may as well just have photoshopped a huge image of Saturn in there as well as far as I'm concerned. :)
 
I love the one of the Falcon attacking another bird. That's the sort of thing I'd love to capture. Some amazing photos there.
In terms of the badger shot, whilst it is a nice picture, I always class this as cheating!
 
mr.si said:
I love the one of the Falcon attacking another bird. That's the sort of thing I'd love to capture. Some amazing photos there.
In terms of the badger shot, whilst it is a nice picture, I always class this as cheating!
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Do you mean the Sparrowhawk attacking the Jay?.....
That was a very good image :thumbs:
 
I like the images and the badgers one too. It is not wildlife photojournalist documentary contest, so why not? Maybe he was doing startrail when badger came close and he used a torch or light for a few frames?

One thing did strike me was how all the images are of similar style and light balance. Clearly the judges had very clear and united opinion.
 
I suspect it's a photo of one badger triplicated in slightly different photos . Badgers don't just appear in threes in front of you to have their portraits taken:-)
 
Chas Moonie said:
I suspect it's a photo of one badger triplicated in slightly different photos . Badgers don't just appear in threes in front of you to have their portraits taken:)
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Probably they are. I am not sure if you noticed they have quite a few birds photos just like that. It seems to me the judges loved the technique...
 
It's a combination of images, 30 second stacks for the sky and two flashes on the badger. Similar images of his have been awarded elsewhere, including a variation without the startrails, and with only one badger. Google him and you will see places he has been published, along with camera settings if you're interested.

It's not a documentary award, and as said, compositing is clearly allowed so there's no issue of 'cheating'.

It's also utterly different to 'shopping in a picture of Saturn or whatever. If it all happened at the same time and place, why let the limits of technology stop you from creating an image of the scene? (Though, for what it's worth, I think it would be a much stronger image with 'still' stars rather than trails).
 
It didn't all happen at the same time though, which was in the rules so nothing wrong there. It's perhaps the interpretation of "approximately the same time" ?
 
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