It’s that wonderful time of the year again: the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards jury has announced its results. The top prize-winning photo featured a kangaroo appearing to play an air guitar, while other winners and finalists featured two perennial favorites - clumsy and expressive birds.
"Monday Blah" photographed by John Blumenkamp (USA). "The great gray owl spent much of the afternoon in a majestic pose, looking wise," the photographer said. But after doing some graceful stretches, for a second or two, he would droop his head and look like, 'Is Monday over yet? 'The look of life without love. "
The light-hearted competition is loved by millions and offers a welcome break from the doom and gloom often captured in wildlife photography. Contest founders Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam hope to take this opportunity to get more people involved in the plight of these animals and pay attention to their naivete.
They noted: "Through the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, we hope to expand people's understanding of and engagement with a sustainable world, and wildlife conservation in particular, to protect biodiversity and promote health and abundance for everyone on the planet."
He said: "These awards emphasize conservation while also showcasing wildlife in a fun and special way. When out shooting, I often find myself smiling or laughing at certain behaviors of various species, and this annual event is a great way to bring the fun elements of nature to others." I was busy capturing the majestic pose of the Great Gray Owl in this image. When the owl stretched out and then sat quietly for a moment, it stretched again and for a split second assumed the pose shown here. I grinned and thought, 'This is fun!'"
Australian photographer Jason Moore took home the crown with a perfectly timed shot of a male western gray kangaroo scratching, but it looked more like he was belting out AC/DC's "Thunderstruck." The image, titled "AirGuitarRoo," also won an award in the terrestrial biology category.
Moore said of his 2021 snapshot: "I was driving through an open field where a group of western gray kangaroos were foraging, and the ground was covered with attractive yellow flowers. I had my camera with me, so I stopped and took a few photos. I suddenly noticed this kangaroo striking a humorous pose - it looked to me like it was practicing playing air guitar."
In this year's competition, a total of 5,300 entries from 85 countries were shortlisted, and this is one of two kangaroo images that were shortlisted.
Tzahi Finkelstein's "Happy Turtle" is among the highly praised winning entries. While not laugh-out-loud comic, this photo has a sheer sense of warmth, depicting a bog turtle seemingly looking in amazement at its new dragonfly companion.
Jacques Poulard from France forgot he was photographing wildlife and instead submitted a photo of a living snow globe. Not only is this highly praised photo hilarious, it also gets bonus points for its difficulty. "These photos were taken in Spitzberg during a very cold winter, and the white grouse came towards me and looked like a snowball with eyes," Plader said.
In 2023/24, 10% of the organization’s profits will be donated to UK charity Whitley Nature Foundation to support conservation leaders in the global south. The region is home to some of the most incredible species on earth, but is also home to some of the highest levels of poverty and wildlife habitat loss.
The Comedy Photography Awards competition is open to photographers of all abilities because it focuses as much on capturing the moment as it does on the shooting method.
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If you would like to enter the 2024 competition, please click here for details:
https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com/competition/competition-categories.php