41 Top-Tier Finalist Pics From The 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

41 Top-Tier Finalist Pics From The 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

Autumn might be trying to leave its mark with all the wind and rain, but the photographers participating in the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are keeping everyone cheerful and full of chuckles. The competition’s finalists for 2023 have finally been revealed, and this year’s batch is full of quality comedy and good vibes, as always. They’re perfect for chasing away the blues!

Scroll down to see these top-tier finalist photos and be sure to upvote the ones you loved the most. Meanwhile, read on for Bored Panda’s interview with the friendly team running the competition, who put comedy and conservation at the heart of everything that they do.

More info: ComedyWildlifePhoto.com | Facebook | Instagram | X

Photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam founded the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards all the way back in 2015 in order to show the lighter side of wildlife photography while also promoting conservation. And in fact, comedy and conservation lie at the core of the competition.

This year’s shortlist includes 41 standalone photographs, 3 videos, and 3 Portfolio entries. They’ve been selected from a massive number of entries, sent in by amateur and professional photographers alike from all over the world.

Michelle Wood, a member of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards team, revealed to Bored Panda that a jaw-dropping number of people entered the contest this year.

She shared with us that “just under 2,000 entrants” took part in the contest in 2023. The team had the monumental task of choosing the crème de la crème from all the hilarious photos and videos.

The contest doesn’t take conservation lightly. Every year, the contest supports a sustainable conservation organization. This year, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards team is working together with the Whitley Fund for Nature, a UK charity that supports conservation leaders working in their home countries across the Global South.

The charity, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, has channeled £20 million ($24.3 million or €23.1 million) to 200 conservationists in 80 countries.

Over the next few weeks, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards’ panel of judges will be working tirelessly to whittle down the finalists and make the shortlist, well, even shorter than it already is. The winners of the competition will be announced on November 23.

The overall top image will win a handmade trophy from the Art Garage in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, alongside a stunning one-week safari with Alex Walker’s Serian in the Masai Mara, Kenya.

Meanwhile, voting is also open for the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Affinity Photo. So if you have a favorite photo, be sure to drop by the competition’s website and cast your vote. It’s a wonderful way to have your voice heard. The cherry on top is that you’ll enter a free prize draw and have the chance of winning £500.

According to the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards team, this year’s panel of judges includes: TV presenter Kate Humble; actor and comedian Hugh Dennis; world renowned wildlife photographers Daisy Gilardini and Will Burrard-Lucas; wildlife expert and co-founder of The Born Free Foundation Will Travers OBE; Ashley Hewson, the Managing Director of Serif, makers of Affinity Photo; Celina Dunlop, picture editor extraordinaire; underwater film and diving aficionado Luke Inman and Bella Lack, a super young passionate conservationist.

Wood, from the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards team, told Bored Panda all about how future entrants can manage the pressure they might be feeling. After all, participating in any contest can be quite stressful. Especially when you start thinking about all the talented competition that you’ll be facing.

“Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to enter, make a reminder of the deadline dates for yourself as submission can take time,” Wood urged future entrants.

“Get your submission ready and labeled up way before you want to submit,” she suggested.

“Always drop us an email if you get stuck or stressed, entry to the competition is always possible, so don’t be afraid of getting in touch. In fact, we rather like it! You will get through to a real person— and we will try and help you through the process,” Wood stressed the fact the team is very approachable and always happy to help.

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Finally, she suggested that all entrants take the time to enjoy the images, even if they don’t make it through the selection process. You can always apply again next year! What’s important is enjoying the process of photography itself, not just winning.

Wood noted that there are many ways that fans of the competition can help local conservation efforts in their everyday life. “The main tip is to start. That’s it. Just get going and don’t put it off!” she urged everyone to be proactive, adding that their website has some fantastic suggestions on their conservation page. Whether you’ve decided to eat less meat and unplug your electronics or put plant boxes on your window sills, it’s vital to start taking small steps ASAP, instead of waiting for the ‘perfect’ time.

After you’ve enjoyed these photos to the fullest, feel free to share your thoughts about them in the comments. Meanwhile, for some more stunning and witty pics, check out Bored Panda’s earlier features about the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards finalists in previous years: 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019. These pics are bound to inspire you the next time you take your camera out in nature.

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Cherokee Art Market Returns to Hard Rock Tulsa

Cherokee Art Market Returns to Hard Rock Tulsa

TULSA, OK – A celebration of authentic Native art, Cherokee Art Market returns to Hard Rock Tulsa Oct. 14-15. At one of the largest Native American art markets in the state, guests can enjoy the authentic work of 150 elite Native American artists from across the country.

“The list of artists accepted into the 2023 Cherokee Art Market is exceptional, and each year it grows stronger with more diversity in the categories and more tribal nations represented,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “Visitors will see the works of talented creators across Indian Country. We are so proud of this market – one of the most respected juried art markets in the nation – and what it means for our artisan community, as well as the local economic impact it provides annually.”

More than 40 tribes will be represented at the 18th annual Cherokee Art Market, with artwork ranging from beadwork, pottery, paintings, basketry, sculptures and textiles. Guests can meet directly with each juried artist and learn more about their work. In addition, the market will feature cultural demonstrations, presentations and conversations with some of the nation’s top Native American artists each day.

“As we approach nearly two decades of Cherokee Art Market, we can’t help but be incredibly proud of how this event has grown and evolved,” said Donna Tinnin, Senior Manager of Programs and Events for Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism. “One thing that has always stood out is our immersive cultural demonstrations that enhance the guest experience. This year, we are expanding those efforts to include featured presentations and conversations with key industry stakeholders like our friends at the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. We look forward to providing an entertaining, educational and engaging experience for all.”

Participating artists also compete for their share of more than $75,000 in prize money and top honors and special recognition such as the Best of Show, Innovator Award, Culture Keeper and more awarded across nearly 30 categories.

An opening reception will be held in the Sky Room at Hard Rock Tulsa on Friday, Oct. 13, at 7:00pm to welcome artists and announce winning work. The public is welcome to attend the reception with tickets available for purchase at the door. A family-friendly event is open to the public 10:00am to 5:00pm in the Sequoyah Convention Center at Hard Rock Tulsa.

Cherokee Art Market is presented by Cherokee Nation Businesses. Co-sponsors include Native American Art Magazine and Tulsa People.

Exhibition of stunning wildlife photography opens in Truro

Exhibition of stunning wildlife photography opens in Truro
A photograph of a blue shark taken by Robin FisherRobin Fisher

Incredible scenes from nature have been captured by photographers in Cornwall.

There were more than 1,000 entries for the first Cornish Wildlife photography exhibition organised by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

The subjects range from kestrels in flight to blue sharks in the oceans off the Cornish coast.

The top 30 photographs selected as category finalists and winners will be displayed around Truro Cathedral from Thursday until 17 November.

This kestrel was photographed by Andy Maher

Andy Maher

Cornwall Wildlife Trust spokesman Scott Marsden said: “Our 2023 Wildlife Photography Competition aimed to inspire the people of Cornwall to discover our amazing wildlife through their cameras and smartphones.

“We wanted to encourage more people to become aware of the unique wealth of wildlife in Cornwall, whether along the coast, in our moorland, heathland, farmland, wetlands, unique temperate woodland, or in our towns and villages.”

Demoiselle damselfly

Whitaker Walker

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The Nook offers a cozy space for events and photography sessions

The Nook offers a cozy space for events and photography sessions
image

Lauren Olson recently debuted The Nook, a photography studio and event space located in Hamel.

“It all kind of started in 2020, I had kind of one of those ‘aha’ moments/realizations of what am I doing? I feel like I need a creative outlet that I’m not getting right now in my corporate career. So I started getting back into photography,” Olson said.

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Rediscovered Rembrandt valued at €15,000 now offered for £15mn

Rediscovered Rembrandt valued at €15,000 now offered for £15mn

Sotheby’s will offer a rediscovered Rembrandt night scene for £10mn-£15mn as a highlight of its Old Masters sale in London this December. The small, nearly monochromatic work — “The Adoration of the Kings” (now dated c1628) — was catalogued as Circle of Rembrandt at Christie’s in Amsterdam in 2021 and estimated at €10,000-€15,000. Others thought it might be the real thing, helping the work then sell for €860,000 (including fees).

Its buyer subsequently contacted Sotheby’s and the auction house has spent 18 months researching the work, including detailed infrared imaging. The conclusion is that it is “not just by Rembrandt, but is a really significant Rembrandt”, says George Gordon, Sotheby’s co-chair of Old Master paintings and drawings. Leading scholars, including Volker Manuth, who co-wrote the 2019 catalogue raisonné of Rembrandt’s paintings, support the auction house’s views.

The research has revealed changes that Rembrandt made while painting, including moving the protagonists’ heads towards the holy family, to create a more pronounced focal point. “We can see how his mind was working,” Gordon says. He also highlights the artist’s command of reflected light from two sources — a warm, interior one and the cooler Star of Bethlehem.

Known as a Rembrandt until the 1950s, the work “completely disappeared” from records in the intervening decades, most likely because the only available photograph did not do it justice, Gordon says. It comes to auction on December 6 and has a third-party guarantee.


A detail of ‘Jenny & Zac Holding Hands’ (2019) by Rene Matić, one of the artists commissioned by Deutsche Bank for its new London HQ © Courtesy of the artist and Arcadia Missa, London

Deutsche Bank has revealed details of the art projects for its new UK headquarters at 21 Moorfields in the City of London, opening next March. As well as showing about 1,200 works from its collection (which numbers about 50,000 globally), the bank has commissioned wall-works by three emerging British artists — Simeon Barclay, Rene Matić and Claire Hooper — all of whom responded to a theme of inclusivity. Matić, for example, will produce 20 large-scale photographs for display across three floors, from their flags for countries that don’t exist but bodies that do series. This explores the complicated notion of Britishness through the daily life of urban communities.

Many of the works in the new building were bought at the Frieze fairs, which the bank has sponsored since the second London edition in 2004. These include a set of works by Noémie Goudal, bought last year, to hang in the reception area, and works by Lubaina Himid, bought in 2016 (the year before Himid won the Turner prize), to go in a conference room named after the artist. “Our longstanding partnership with Frieze illustrates our mutual passion to create access to support fresh ideas,” says Britta Färber, global head of art and culture at Deutsche Bank.


Fernand Léger’s ‘Le 14 juillet’ (1912-13), estimated at $15mn-$20mn

Phillips has won the mandate to sell 30 works from the prestigious Triton Collection Foundation, valued at more than $70mn and with an auction house-backed guarantee of sale. The works, collected by the late Rotterdam shipping magnate Willem Cordia and his wife, Marijke Cordia-van der Laan, span the 19th century — such as Edgar Degas’s “Le petit déjeuner après le bain” (c1894, est $2.5mn-$3.5mn) — to postwar and beyond, including Joan Mitchell’s “Untitled” (c1954, est $7mn-$10mn). Fernand Léger’s celebratory “Le 14 juillet” (1912-13) has a $15mn-$20mn estimate and comes as a two-for-one work: conservators at the Triton Collection Foundation recently uncovered an earlier painting by the artist on the back of the canvas.

The Triton Collection — named after the Greek god of the sea, alluding to the family’s maritime business — focuses on the avant-garde, so is by its nature evolving, notes Phillips Americas president Jean-Paul Engelen. Plus, he says, “the founders always wanted their children to have their own experience of collecting”. Phillips’ dedicated auction will be in New York on November 14.


‘Work Out and Just Getting Started’ (2023) by Krzystof Strzelecki, whose work is going on show at the Art Dealers Association of America’s annual fair © Courtesy of the artist

Anat Ebgi, a gallerist with three spaces in Los Angeles, is opening in New York. The move to a historic block in Tribeca will be “amazing for many of our artists, who have not had a show in New York”, Ebgi says. Her gallery will have two floors and a mezzanine level across about 5,000 sq ft — bigger than any of her spaces in LA. “Unlike most people, I went to New York and found more square footage,” she says. Her neighbours in the increasingly popular gallery area will include PPOW and Andrew Kreps, while the midtown Marian Goodman Gallery moves its New York base nearby, to 385 Broadway, next year.

Ebgi plans a soft opening on November 2, to coincide with the Art Dealers Association of America’s annual fair. This show will include work by the Polish artist Krzysztof Strzelecki, who is recreating a gym in ceramics, says Stefano di Paola, the gallery partner who is overseeing the New York opening. Anat Ebgi will then formally open with a group show in January followed by a solo show of the LA artist Greg Ito.


Pullman Yards, venue for the Atlanta Art Fair, in the city’s Kirkwood district © Events Pullman

Atlanta gets its first art fair next year, a collaboration between Art Market Productions (AMP) and Intersect Art and Design. Both businesses already (separately) run regional fairs in the US, including in Seattle, Palm Springs and San Francisco. Kelly Freeman, director at AMP, says that Atlanta “is experiencing an incredible artistic moment that not everybody knows about”. She says that while there are already some “great events” that cater to the American south — namely Art Basel in Miami Beach and the Dallas Art Fair — “these are more about the travelling global arts community. Our shows are more about the places we are in.”

Other businesses are responding to Georgia’s growing cultural community, notably in film and television production. In March, the Hollywood talent agency UTA opened an office and gallery in Atlanta and last year Atlanta Art Week launched, a citywide event for contemporary art whose second edition runs this week (until October 8). The new Atlanta Art Fair will have approximately 50 exhibitors and is slated to coincide with the art week in October 2024. It will be in Kirkwood’s Pullman Yards, a former industrial area that has reinvented itself as a cultural hub.

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