Isabelle Osborne
Showcasing the natural world ‘in all its fragility and diversity’, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 57 Exhibition offers a remarkable insight into the world around us through the medium of photography.
Since 1965, the Natural History Museum’s annual competition and exhibition has offered people around the world the opportunity to showcase their connection to nature and wildlife through photography. Split into 19 categories, this year’s Award welcomed 50,000 entries from photographers across 95 countries. Pieces were judged on their ‘originality, narrative, technical excellence and ethical practice,’ with a selection of the finest entries exhibited between 15 October 2021 and 5 June 2022 at the Museum.
Strolling through the exhibition, the breadth and depth of the entries is acutely apparent. We are taken on a global tour, transported across continents and a multitude of environments. From the dark depths of the ocean to the lively urban streets, the pieces traverse between the mundane and the extraordinary, each photograph displaying a unique focus on the world around us.
‘Animals in their Environment’ is a category that encapsulates the dynamic drama that can be achieved through photography. ‘Grizzly leftovers’ by Zack Clothier (Winner, Animals in their Environment) documents a grizzly bear staring directly into the lens of the camera after they ‘trashed’ Clothier’s set up, enclosed by the carcass of a bull elk. Xiaoyun Luo’s ‘Snow leopard summer’ (Highly Commended, Animals in their Environment) showcases four snow leopards in the foreground of a stunning mountain range in Sichuan, China, lying adjacent to ‘the remains of a blue sheep on which they had likely just fed.’ These pieces highlight animals in their natural habitat, at their strongest but also at their most vulnerable. The bear’s inquisitive gaze into the camera and the snow leopard’s alert attention to the onlooker remind us of the presence of the photographer capturing such a raw, authentic impression of nature. Whether we observe a sense of curious fear more than we do an impression of vicious ferocity is for the individual observer to conclude.
The ‘Behaviour’ category showcases a series of the most skilful photography within the exhibition. Aiming to showcase ‘memorable glimpses into the lives of wild species’, one is struck by the sense of theatre the pieces exhibit. ‘Head to head’ by Stefano Unterthiner (Winner, Behaviour: Mammals) hosts an astounding scene between two Svalbard reindeer as their antlers interlock, whilst Shane Kalyn’s observation of two ravens in ‘The intimate touch’ (Winner, Behaviour: Birds) spotlights their velvet plumage in contrast to the frosty environment. They are two of the many pieces that provoke us to consider the skill it takes to photograph fleeting moments with such clarity and proximity.
‘Many photographers highlight just how of their time their works are and how pertinent photography as an art form can be in spotlighting social, political and cultural issues.’
A markedly memorable element of the display was the Urban Wildlife category, which encompasses photographs that ‘focus on the magic of the commonplace, the surprise of the unexpected or the wonder of the normally unseen.’ A startling shot is ‘The spider room’ by Gil Wizen (Winner, Urban Wildlife), observing the venomous Brazilian wandering spider Wizen found residing under his bed. ‘Natural magnetism’ (Highly Commended, Urban Wildlife) sees a tarantula hawk wasp drag its prey amongst the collection of magnets on Jaime Culebras’s fridge; it strikes one as being utterly astounding, yet the domestic setting reduces the magnitude of seeing such a deadly interaction somewhat. ‘Fossa in a mess’ by Elize Labuschagne-Hull (Highly Commended, Urban Wildlife) captures a fossa in a rubbish heap searching for scraps, a discarded receipt laying on its head. A quaint moment, the fossa’s cheekiness and confidence whilst moving within an urban environment brings a smile to our faces. It is photos like the ones contributed by Wizen, Culebras and Labuschagne-Hull that showcase how our connection with nature can occur so close to home.
A particularly delightful photograph selection of the exhibition was those of the Young Photographers Award, where photographers aged 17 and under can display their exceptional talent in photography. Vidyun R Hebbar’s ‘Dome home’ (Winner, 10 Years and Under and Young Grand Title Winner 2021) photographed a tent spider in the foreground of a passing tuk-tuk whilst visiting his local theme park in Karnataka, India. Rosamund Kidman Cox OBE (Chair of the Jury) observes that Hebbar demonstrates ‘such an imaginative way of photographing a spider’, perhaps in reference to the colourful backdrop that Hebbar was able to create as the tuk-tuk flies past in the background; a transient moment captured with such clarity and poise. Another worthy exhibitor was Emelin Dupieux’s ‘Apollo landing’ (Highly Commended, 11-14 Years), showcasing an Apollo butterfly posing on a daisy. The colour palette of this shot is particularly striking, the cool monochrome tones dispersed by the stark yellow of the flowers’ centres providing stunning visual contrasts; one wonders at its simple, understated beauty. The pieces in this category are marked by maturity and care, and it is exciting to predict what the young photographers may produce in the future.
Lara Jackson’s ‘Raw moment’ (Highly Commended, Animal Portraits) was a personal highlight of the exhibition: as the blood of her latest victim drips from her jaws, the unnerving stare of the lioness makes for an intensely gripping photograph. Another was ‘Flamingo outlook’ (Highly Commended, Urban Wildlife), within which Nayan Khanolkar offers a panoramic view of a community of flamingos as the sun sets on Mumbai, India. Khanolkar’s comment that he has ‘never seen such blue skies in Mumbai’ is a timely reflection on the reduction in air travel in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a comment that unites the photograph with many of the others within the exhibition, as many photographers highlight just how of their time their works are and how pertinent photography as an art form can be in spotlighting social, political and cultural issues.
‘The exhibition is as much of a warning as it is a celebration.’
One such issue is climate change, a recurring theme amplified across the exhibition. Douglas Gimesy’s ‘A deadly huddle’(Behaviour: Mammals) showcases a community of grey-headed flying foxes suffering the effect of the extreme Melbourne heat in 2019, in which thousands died from heat exhaustion. ‘When the wetland caught fire’ (Highly Commended, Photojournalism) is Edson Vandeira’s display of an incinerated carcass of a yacare caiman, shot when Vandeira was volunteering with firefighters and veterinarians in the Pantanal, the world’s biggest tropical wetland. David Doubilet’s ‘Death of a reef’ (Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture) transports us into a dual time zone, the present state of the coral reef looking profoundly different to how it appeared nine years ago, as is signalled by the photograph in Doubilet’s hand: less than a decade on, the corals are now dead. With COP26 lying on the horizon – a time to reflect on how we can unite in an effort to reduce the effects of climate change – the exhibition is as much of a warning as it is a celebration.
The competition aims to ‘enhance the prestige of wildlife photography in the hope that ultimately the awards will benefit the animals themselves, by creating greater public interest in them.’ It is an aim that is unequivocally fulfilled, as the exhibition leaves us questioning, considering and reflecting on how climate change continues to threaten the future of our planet and its animal species. Possibly the most frightening still of the Exhibition is Michael Watson’s ‘A distressing matter’ (Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture), whereby a grey seal is entwined in fishing rope. The anguish displayed on the seal’s face is deeply upsetting to observe, though it is a necessary reminder of the danger abandoned and discarded fishing equipment presents to oceanic ecosystems. Audun Rikardsen’s ‘Net loss’ (Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture) is also preoccupied with this theme, the ominous clouds adding a sombre atmosphere to this showcase of the irreversible threat overfishing poses to oceanic life. Kibande, the mountain gorilla in Majed Ali’s ‘Reflection’ (Winner, Animal Portraits), is featured in a moment of tranquillity and reflection, though in the accompanying poster to the photograph lies the haunting reality that mountain gorillas are endangered by habitat loss and disruption, disease and poaching. Each photograph exists within a context, one that speaks to a wider debate surrounding wildlife conservation.
The Photojournalism category is another division of the exhibition where photographers reflect on animal conservation – or, more accurately, an absence of it. Brent Stirton’s ‘Community of Care’ (Winner, Photojournalist Story Award) features the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a centre for chimpanzees who have fallen victim to the bushmeat trade. Though the horrifying shot of primate carcasses prepared to be sold in Stirton’s ‘Illegal business’ exists as a troubling reminder that the bushmeat trade is still thriving, ‘The healing touch’ is a moving piece that shows the sense of connection between humans and animals as the director of the centre poses so candidly with the newly rescued chimp who gazes up at her. The tensions exhibited in Stirton’s work represent how humanity is at a crossroads: it is our choice as to whether we take the journey to protecting the future of our planet and its animals, or if we remain on the path to environmental and ecological catastrophe.
The exhibition concludes with a montage of the pieces chosen for the ‘The People’s Choice Award’, which offers visitors the opportunity to nominate their favourite photograph from a selection of 25 entries worthy of recognition. There is something rather poignant about the fact such a category exists, a subtle plea for observers to recognise our collective accountability in protecting animal communities and their habitats as we select our choice.
The photographs exhibited in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition are daring and dramatic, moving and awe-inspiring. They are testament to both the phenomenal artistic talent of the global photography scene and a reflection of how the visual arts can spark conversation, debate and action so exquisitely.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition at the Natural History Museum is open for visitors from 15 October 2021 to 5 June 2022. Find out more here.
Featured image courtesy of Alif Ngoylung via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Isabelle Osborne
Isabelle Osborne is currently reading English at University College London. She is an active member of the UCL student journalist community, and has experience in marketing and communications, blogging, copywriting and content creation and radio broadcasting.
There is so much knowledge and information in this article. Totally enjoyed reading it and gathering so many interesting aspects of this programme.