British Wildlife Photography Awards Exhibition 2013

A while ago, well in September actually, I went to the British Wildlife Photography Awards Exhibition 2013 in the Mall Galleries in London.  I absolutely love wildlife photography and have been to a few exhibitions now, and this one did not disappoint.  Having recently started trying my hand at wildlife/nature photography, and am now beginning to appreciate just how difficult it really is, I was interested in images where the shooting conditions had been particularly challenging.

One situation which particularly stood out was the image, Tiny Dancer by Alex Mustard, which received a highly commended in the Coast and Marine category, but for me in fact, this was the winner!

See http://www.naturephotoblog.com/?showimage=565 for this image (unfortunately cannot be reproduced).  Apart from the fact that it is a very beautiful portrait, and perhaps because of the lighting, there are colours showing that you may not see as a diver, I was also impressed that someone knew what this animal was and also was willing to dive deep into a Scottish loch with loads of kit to photograph it!

The image I liked the most (for the "aaah" factor) was Awakening Otter by Brydon Thomason

Awakening Otter (c) Brydon Thomason

I'm always drawn to images with a limited colour palette and the pink paws are really really striking against the browns and dark greys.  The description as well describing why she was sleeping evidenced that the photographer knew is subject well and had been watching her for some time.

Finally, I wanted to comment on the image Cuttlefish Detail by Michael Gallagher:

Cuttlefish Detail (c) Michael Gallagher

In the description, Gallagher described how the cuttlefish approached him with curiosity.  It's interesting that Gallagher chose to present the detail of the eye rather than a picture of the whole animal itself.  Again limited colours, but with a bit more variation in the eye, and classic single point composition on the thirds.

For more of the winning images, please see http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/23897283