Wildlife photographer of the year 2009 winner announced

[david156]

Originally Posted by welshcameraman

And time.... Professionals can go out shooting anytime of the week....How many of us have missed that "winning" shot because we were stuck behind a desk? Or in my case a bench.

Martin

or didn't bother taken the camera or forgot to charge the battery!

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by welshcameraman

And time.... Professionals can go out shooting anytime of the week....

that's something of a fallacy as there's a lot more to being a pro than just taking pictures - for a start there's all the admin involved in running a business, marketing yourself and your pics etc , then on top of that a lot of pros also do seminars, write books, run training courses etc.

while its true that a pro is reasonable free to organise their time to go shooting when they choose, that is also true of any other self employed person, and reasonably so of those of us in salaried jobs who have holidays, flexitime and toil.

like i said the difference is the dedication - ie the commitment to spend your time shooting to get the award winning image , rather than on wab, pursuing other activities, in bed with the wife, or slumped in front of the tv with a can of beer.

[welshcameraman]

Posted by Eeyore
"while its true that a pro is reasonable free to organise their time to go shooting when they choose, that is also true of any other self employed person, and reasonably so of those of us in salaried jobs who have holidays, flexitime and toil."

Holidays, flexitime.....Salaries..Oh how I wish I had any of those....lol..I have been self employed for the last 20 years....and not once have I been paid while sitting at home or on holidays or out taking photos..the innocence of people with comfy jobs...lol

But I am being pedantic , Eeyore is right what he says...and at the end of the day it does take hard work.

Martin

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by welshcameraman

and at the end of the day it does take hard work.

Martin

..or a picture of a cats bum and an out of focus fox!

[matt_xyz]

here's a statement from the competition organisers about the winning image. They've decided it was a captive wolf and have disqualified the image.

Competition - Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Matt

[PMG]

Originally Posted by matt_xyz

here's a statement from the competition organisers about the winning image. They've decided it was a captive wolf and have disqualified the image.

Competition - Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Matt

Yeah! Result! I couldn't be more chuffed - I really couldn't! I have nothing at all against folks getting inventive with whatever species or equipment they have in order to produce stunning shots like this very one ...... its the attempt to pass it off as something it isn't that angered me - entered into the right category fine ........

Pauline

[NicolaB]

Fab news!

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by PMG

its the attempt to pass it off as something it isn't that angered me - entered into the right category fine ........

I couldn't agree more Pauline. It's still a powerful, evocative and beautifully crafted image but it's not what it purports to be - an image of a wild wolf behaving naturally.

I note the photographer still "strongly denies that the wolf in the image is a model wolf" so good luck to the BBC and the NHM in getting the cash back! I wonder if they'll pick a different overall winner. They might not be able to stump up another ten grand but the title itself is very prestigious.

Dave P.

[DrNickBurton]

This is a sorry episode - I really liked that image, but rules are rules, and it sounds like the guy just hasn't been honest.

Let's see if there is ever another trap photography winner. Somehow, I doubt it - in future I expect trap photography will be viewed with even greater suspicion because of what has happened. Not entirely logical, as they are separate issues, but it's human nature I think.

[acherontia]

OH has just read all this on his college web site.
What an absolute idiot this photographer is. He's obviously got a lot of talent but he has now completely ruined his chances of achieving any standing in the wildlife photography circuit. Now he may be looking at-

'Studio photographer's assistant wanted.... must have some experience.'

Silly man.

Acher