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Pic of polar bear wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award
Trisha Sengupta
Feb 07, 2024 02:12 PM IST
Nima Sarikhani searched for polar bears on for 3 days before taking the pic that won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.
An image of a polar bear sleeping on a small iceberg has bagged the 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award. As per reports, Nima Sarikhani, the winner, captured the image after searching for polar bears for three days on Norwegian islands.
Each year, this photography competition is organised by the Natural History Museum. The organisation also shared a blog about the pictures that made it to the top of the list in the recently concluded competition.
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About the photo of the sleeping polar bear:
Sarikhani’s picture called the ‘Ice Bed’ was ‘crowned champion following a contest in which a record 75,000 people voted’. While talking about this accomplishment, the photographer told the museum, “I am so honoured to have won this year’s People’s Choice award for Wildlife Photography of the Year, the most prestigious wildlife photography competition. This photograph has stirred strong emotions in many of those who have seen it”.
“Whilst climate change is the biggest challenge we face, I hope that this photograph also inspires hope. There is still time to fix the mess we have caused,” he added.
Also Read: ‘Moody’ baboon to ‘curious’ cheetah: Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards pics
“Nima’s breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet,” said Dr Douglas Gurr, the Director of the Natural History Museum.
‘His thought-provoking image is a stark reminder of the integral bond between an animal and its habitat and serves as a visual representation of the detrimental impacts of climate warming and habitat loss,” the director added.
A glimpse at the other photographs:
The photographs submitted to the competition by people from across the world were regularly shared on the official X handle dedicated to the contest.
Here is a glimpse of several images, including the one that won:
These images, shared in a tweet, capture animals and insects of different species ‘talking’ to each other:
Other than ‘Ice Bed’, ‘The Happy Turtle’ by Tzahi Finkelstein and ‘Starling Murmuration’ by Daniel Dencescu were highly commended. As for Sarikhani’s work, it will be displayed in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition until June 30 in South Kensington in Central London.
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Honor hypes up Magic6 Pro sports photography prowess, signs fencer Cecilia Berder to test it
Honor launched the Magic6 Pro in China last month, and now we are approaching the moment when the phone will go global at MWC 2024. The company is very proud of what it achieved with the phone’s camera setup and in the latest teaser it is hyping up the sports photography prowess of the flagship.
The Honor Magic6 Pro’s Falcon Camera system promises to leverage AI Motion Sensing capabilities, to auto-capture the incredibly fast sporting moments, such as the highlights of facing match. The company worked with Cecilia Berder, fencing World champion and Olympic silver medalist to give it a try.
Honor Magic6 Pro camera capabilities
The AI algorithm helps detects motion and automatically captures multiple frames to let you identify that perfect one. Obviously, fast-paced action requires fast shutter speeds, so high light sensitivity is required and Honor is confident the Magic6 Pro has what it takes. We’ll obviously need to give the phone a proper test before believing all that, but the hardware does look promising.
Honor Magic6 Pro camera specs
- Wide (main): 50MP OmniVision OVH9000, 1/1.3″, f/1.4-2.0, 23mm, Laser AF, PDAF, OIS; 4320p@30/60fps
- Telephoto: 180MP Samsung ISOCELL HP3, 1/1.49″, f/2.6, 2.5x optical zoom, PDAF, OIS
- Ultrawide: 50MP Samsung S5KJN1, 1/2.76″, f/2.0, 13mm, 122 degrees FoV, AF
- Front camera: 50MP, f/2.0, 22mm, AF
The Honor Magic6 Pro will be accompanied by the Magic V2 RSR Porsche Design at the event in Barcelona. Rumors suggested there might be a luxurious variant of the camera flagship as well; we will be at the event and will have the latest info once everything is official.
ArtDependence | Tavares Strachan’s Sculpture Unveiled in Royal Academy Courtyard
The First Supper (Galaxy Black), 2023, by Tavares Strachan is now on view in the public courtyard at the Royal Academy of Arts.
This Facebook Group Shares Spectacular Photos Of Unspectacular Things, Here Are 116 Of The Best
A major pitfall to avoid is perfectionism. With a subject as subjective as photography, there’s no such thing as ‘perfection.’ You cannot expect to be artistically satisfied with every shot you take.
Nor can you expect absolutely everyone to ‘get’ the ideas behind your snaps. It takes a lot of courage to look at a photo you took, label it as ‘good enough,’ and then share it with the world.
The feedback that you get from other people can be incredibly valuable for your personal growth. But it takes humility to accept constructive criticism for what it is.
Stunning Sleepy Polar Bear Image By UK Photographer Wins Top Picture Prize
His photo was crowned as champion following a contest in which a record 75,000 people voted
A stunning picture of a sleeping polar bear has won the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award. According to BBC, the portrait titled ‘Ice Bed’ has been clicked by British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani. His photo was crowned as champion following a contest in which a record 75,000 people voted.
Notably, Mr Sarikhani captured the image after three days of searching for polar bears off the coast of Norway. When his expedition vessel changed course, he finally encountered two polar bears and caught the younger one climbing onto a small iceberg and carving out his bed. The image he took shows a male polar bear having a peaceful night’s sleep.
See the picture here:
Powerful🔥
If you need a visual representation of the impact of climate change ⬇️📷 British photographer Nima Sarikhani, winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award. pic.twitter.com/JFzolatIsJ
— Jessica G. Obeid (@Jessica_Obeid) February 7, 2024
”Sarikhani’s breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet.His thought-provoking image is a stark reminder of the integral bond between an animal and its habitat and serves as a visual representation of the detrimental impacts of climate warming and habitat loss,” Natural History Museum director Dr Douglas Gurr said.
Reacting to the win, Mr Sarikhani said, ”I am so honoured to have won this year’s People’s Choice award for Wildlife Photography of the Year, the most prestigious wildlife photography competition. This photograph has stirred strong emotions in many of those who have seen it. Whilst climate change is the biggest challenge we face, I hope that this photograph also inspires hope. There is still time to fix the mess we have caused.”
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. The annual contest was originally founded in 1965 by BBC Wildlife Magazine.
Notre Dame professor emeritus does more than just teach
Nimble hands, a metal lock and a key fill the camera’s lens. A hairy hand twists the key to crack open the lock. The camera snaps. An orangutan mother opens the door, grabs her child and flees the dark cage, yet again.
Richard Sheehan, Notre Dame professor emeritus and independent photographer, captured this moment years ago in the Los Angeles Zoo. According to him, it was a common occurrence.
Before becoming a Notre Dame finance professor and capturing wildlife pictures, Sheehan worked at the Federal Reserve as an economist. During his time at the Federal Reserve, he recorded the macroeconomy, monetary policies and their growth over time.
He said sports-related data piqued his interest in pursuing a career as a macroeconomics professor and researcher.
“It led me to think of the question: Suppose you could split off football programs from colleges … and then you can sell that. How much would that be worth?,” he said.
Sheehan was the first who “asked that question.” It commenced his research, teaching and career at Notre Dame.
This idea, along with others, prompted him to release his book, “Keeping Score: the Economics of Big-time Sports.” In his book, Sheehan addresses the value of professional and collegiate teams. He also answers questions about “paying [college] athletes” and “competitive balance.”
Throughout his time as a finance professor, Sheehan also pursued photography as a hobby. He accredits his interest in photography due to the revolution of the digital camera.
A digital camera was his present to himself after defending his Ph.D. dissertation. It was barely used, but his first family African safari was “a real breakthrough” for two reasons.
One reason was because Sheehan did not have to rely on developers and “was in control all the way through.” Another reason was the instant feedback allowed him to learn more throughout the safari than previously.
Over his 40 trips to Africa, he has taken digital pictures of nearly every wild animal.
Five zebras drinking water from a canal in Africa.
“If you can think of a wild animal, I have probably photographed it from lions to leopards to tigers to cheetahs … ” he said.
Sheehan said that one of his friends has a history of leopard and tiger conservation, which prompted Sheehan’s hobby of wildlife photography. In his most recent trip to the Orange Free State, South Africa, Sheehan photographed these tigers and their cubs outside of their den.
Sheehan said one of his favorite animals to photograph is the African wild dog, a critically endangered species whose hunting patterns are distinct from the common cat predators.
He said the monochromatic aesthetic of zebras are “always graphic.” He also said intelligent animals, like the orangutan and elephant, are his favorite to capture, pointing to the common orangutan outbreak in the Los Angeles Zoo.
After his recent trip to South Africa, Sheehan returned to Notre Dame to temporarily teach macroeconomics this semester.
Mumbai through the lens of filmaker and photographer Nirvair Singh Rai
“Mumbai is the sweet, sweaty smell of hope, which is the opposite of hate; and it’s the sour, stifled smell of greed, which is the opposite of love. It’s the smell of Gods, demons, empires, and civilizations in resurrection and decay. It’s the blue skin-smell of the sea, no matter where you are in the island city, and the blood-metal smell of machines…” was what Gregory David Roberts wrote in ‘Shantaram’ when he migrated to the hot and heavy cauldron of everything good and bad that the world has to offer, the city of dreams: Mumbai.
Film-maker and photographer Nirvair Singh Rai similarly found himself drawn to the streets of Mumbai eight years ago, camera in hand; following the practice he picked up while studying documentary photography in Bangladesh. “It could be a vacation or if I’m at home, I’ll try to just shoot something on an everyday basis. I came to Bombay and started doing that without anything in my mind at that moment. I just wanted to get out and explore the city meet people, get into confrontations good or ugly.” He tells us. With ‘Reclaiming Spaces’ the photographer’s solo exhibition at Method Juhu that is on display till February 11th, he takes us on a walk through his archives of the spaces of Mumbai that have been lost in the throes of industrialisation and time. “I feel this whole reclaiming space came from that understanding that nothing is permanent. When I go back and look back at the same streets – what has changed there over time? There are so many memories attached to it, it’s a walk down memory lane where you just revisit everything.” He says.
Somewhere all souls who wander to the streets of Mumbai are searching for something, holding different dreams and aspirations in their hearts. And yet both Gregory David Roberts and Nirvair Singh Rai meet at the intersection of expression as they interpret the gritty, grey urban landscapes of Mumbai along similar lines; albeit different mediums. A rather symbolic example of something Nirvair says to me as we catch up with the artist, “We all ring at a frequency in our lives, we attract people, places, things we see- they all come from our frequencies. Interconnectedness in some ways in a larger scheme of things.”
Through the lens of Nirvair, we see Bombay in its most naked avatar, in frames of lovers hidden by tetrapods and the unmissable distance between older lovers, and most importantly the looming grey sheen of the urban threat carefully drawn out across the horizon in black and white. Nirvair dances among emotions, memories and human nature with his imagery that captures the raw essence of the city of dreams. He tells us, “With photography, with art comes a lot of empathy. You feel responsible for the group of people who are less privileged than we are. There are many ways of looking at photography- there’s a professional way and there’s something that I do for myself,” the artist’s burden of balancing both the narratives that need to be told and the ones you want to be seen for yourself.
The initial introduction to documenting in Nirvair’s life began with his father who while an engineer by profession was a lover of the art of photography; so much so that he had a dark room of his own where he would develop film at home. “that’s where I picked it up from, a very loving fatherly perspective about photography.” He added. And since there the artist has never looked back, on the road of constant development of his craft. While the photographer/filmmaker has also garnered much appreciation for his work documenting fashion it’s his control of spaces, the way he sees landscapes and areas that truly sets him apart, a trait that can be traced back to his years growing up in his hometown of Punjab. “Landscapes for me, I just go back to either Punjab or the Himachal. It’s like such an open land and you feel so small in these places because you can see the horizon, you can see the whole world around you. Visually there are no buildings, nothing obstructing your view. And like reclaiming spaces, you tend to go back to the places and the places change, the person is not there anymore. Something that you shoot after a while will always cook up into something very special. Because it has taken its course and its time and you have gone back to the place, and you can talk about it because you’re related now- you know that place or a landscape for 10 years 15 years, for a lifetime.” He tells us. Talking of the passage of time, the theme is a common element perceived in the frames of ‘Reclaiming Spaces’, a display of the death caused by urbanisation and the contrasting reclamation of its soul through art.
The artist’s ideology is hence reflected in his body of work- a harmonious display of natural aesthetics in unusual positions and yet un-orchestrated- a simple coming together of real elements that are evident in the captures. “I feel even when you’re asked to make a movie, I will try not to give visuals or cloud my mind with so much out there. I feel if you do something that is truly yours it’ll work for you it’ll work for your audience because that is the best that you can do. You own the space; you own the conversations that you’re having and you kind of create this whole world in that place.” He adds. The synergy of the subject and the story it’s telling is what Nirvair puts his faith in, allowing the images to be the most unadulterated versions of themselves. “I feel if you’ve had a good time there’s going to be something in your film or images. There’ll be some life rather than just posing, so I think you just have to connect with the person to get the things out when it comes to the commercial photography films- and that also kind of binds me to where I come from, from a very documentary lens nature lens. It all kind of flows into each other very well.” He adds talking about the visual process that has led to some of his most striking collaborations with the likes of Sabyasachi, Rahul Mishra, Falguni & Shane Peacock and Tarun Tahliani to name a few.
Talking about what’s next for the dynamic photographer and filmmaker is an upcoming Netflix documentary on the effervescent Yo Yo Honey Singh, directed by Mozez Singh with Nirvair as the DOP. While the artist continues to capture and narrate stories one by one, collecting a fair share of laurels in the process. He believes in reaching the masses while setting a larger stage for storytelling. “I want to make a Bollywood film much later in my life. I believe in reaching out to the masses. I keep questioning, why are you in Bombay? It took me some time to realize that Bollywood is the gate to the masses and that’s in Bombay. You want to say something out loud, you have something to share with India, with all of us. Come to Bollywood, share your story over here.” He tells us. One can only wait and watch for the future stories Nirvair Singh Rai weaves through his vision. But in the moment, we take a step back in time rather than forward, and visit archival Mumbai and its unheard stories with ‘Reclaiming Spaces’.
Hero and Feature images: Courtesy Nirvair Singh Rai
Vietnamese photographer wins Sony World Photography Awards 2024
His photo features the Bodhisattva statue on the peak of Ba Den Mountain in the southern province of Tay Ninh. It was captured at dawn in October 2023.
This statue is one of more than 40 ancient Buddhist statues at Bo Da Son, a national relic site in the northern province of Bac Giang. Situated at a height of 986 metres above sea level on the peak of Ba Den Mountain, the 72m-tall statue is the quintessence of religion, culture, and arts.
Tuan Viet’s photograph surpassed a total of 415,000 entries taken by more than 74,000 photographers from 206 countries and territories worldwide to become the only Vietnamese representative to make the list.
In particular, the image of the Bodhisattva statue on the peak of Ba Den Mountain now ranks first on the list on the website of the awards.
The winning works are set to be exhibited at Somerset House in London, the UK, this April.
Created by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards are held annually. More than 1.5 million images from more than 200 countries and territories have been entered to the awards since their initial inception. This year marks the 11th edition of the event.
10 pro photo tips for amazing seascapes with Canon EOS cameras
Landscapes are an incredibly fruitful avenue of photography, allowing those passionate about nature to step into the great outdoors with their cameras and take some wonderful shots of top scenic scenes.
The great news is that you can take fantastic landscape shots with basic equipment, such as a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a kit lens, sturdy tripod and a few filters. The coast is a fabulous place to begin your journey into landscapes photography, it’s ever changing and presents a decent challenge to keep your creative juices flowing.
• To shoot stunning landscapes of your own, check out the best cameras for landscape photography
Reader of PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, Alan Burchell, is a retired archaeologist from Cornwall and also served in the military and police. On retirement he became a mature student at Exeter University, reading archaeology to Masters level – here he also discovered he was dyslexic and dyscalculia. “This makes it difficult for me to completely understand manipulation of numbers and reading manuals,” he says. This hasn’t held him back with his photography, but Alan asked for our help to learn to use his Canon kit to capture local scenery.
We paired him up with professional travel photographer David Clapp to show him the ropes on a day out around the beautiful North Cornwall coast in the UK. Here’s some of the top tips David taught Alan on their workshop together.
Canon landscape and travel photographer David is based in South Devon, but enjoys travelling the world with his Canon kit. Running seminars for Canon and his own photography workshops, David was the perfect pro to show our Apprentice Alan how to capture great seaside scenes and seascapes on the North Cornwall coast.
1. Use Av mode
“I got Alan to set his Canon EOS 5D Mk IV to Aperture Priority (Av) mode,” says David. “So he could ensure his lens’s aperture was always around f/8 to f/11 for the best image quality, good depth of field, and totally sharp scenes. In Av mode, you set the aperture and ISO (we set ours to 100-200), and your camera sets the shutter speed for a standard exposure.”
2. Manual Focus
David explains how he focuses manually to infinity on his lens: “I always use the infinity L marker on lenses to focus to infinity for sharp landscape shots. Learn which point along the L marker to manually focus on with your own lenses, checking on the screen in Live View and zooming into the scene.
“Believe it or not, temperature can affect the infinity focusing point, due to the expansion and retraction of metal components in the lens. The L-shaped zone at the end of the focusing range is there to allow infinity focus at all times, should heat or cold cause the infinity point to drift.”
3. Canon EOS R3
David has been biding his time to buy the right mirrorless camera, as he’d been happy with his 5D Mark IV images – but after trying out a Canon EOS R3 full-frame mirrorless, he instantly upgraded.
“The R3 is my first new camera in eight years! I now realise my future is a hybrid camera, for both stills and video. The R3 is a behemoth. This camera will revolutionise my photography world. I’ve started shooting beautiful videos of wildlife at sunrise – and using it for close-up orchid photography yesterday, it was so accurate with focus peaking and tracking.”
4. Move and compose handheld first
“Sometimes people can be too quick to fix their camera on a tripod in one spot and start shooting,” says David, “I like to look and move around a scene first, shooting handheld to find the location and height that captures the scene the best. Then I will set up my tripod and fine-tune my exposure and focus at this point.”
5. Neutral-Density filters
Alan has only used ND grad filters for darkening skies, but to make the seascapes in sunshine appear more interesting, David showed him how to use an ND for long exposures – even during the day.
“We had Alan’s camera locked on his tripod first. But before I screwed a spare B+W brand 10-stop 77mm ND filter on Alan’s 24-105mm, first we focused, as it’s hard to do so once a dark ND is on your lens.”
“We then blocked Alan’s viewfinder, as light goes into the camera’s sensor during long exposures in the day and affects your results.” A common problem with strong ND filters is they cause color casts, but David said you can overcome this by simply setting a custom white balance in your camera menu, using the color cast filter shot.
6. Mono Picture Style
Featureless blue skies without interesting clouds and harsh early-afternoon light aren’t a landscape photographer’s best friend, so David suggested we shoot some black-and-white images to make the most of the conditions. “The best way to shoot in black and white is to use the Monochrome Picture Style on your Canon, so you can see how the shot is working when colour is removed,” says David.
7. Drop-in Filter Mount Adapter EF-EOS R
“I still mostly use Canon EF lenses on my EOS R3,” says David, “but rather than the usual Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R, I use the Drop-in Filter Mount Adapter EF-EOS R. I can use it for attaching EF lenses while shooting with my R3, but the real bonus is I only need one size of smaller filters for any EF lens I use on my R3. I can drop in an ND filter or a circular polarizer – and it won’t get dusty or wet on the end of my lens!”
8. Strong and tall pro tripod
A solid tripod is essential for any landscape-type shots, but a tall tripod is especially useful for seascapes when you need to dig the feet into wet sand, or compose with water lapping around the tripod legs.
“Tripods are also essential for sharp shots during long exposures, and for panoramas and bracketing images, as it keeps your camera totally still,” says David. “My beat-up, beefy Gitzo 4542LS offers a good compromise of weight and strength. It has a levelling base with a bubble level – perfect for accurately composing shots. I use it with my trusty, versatile Really Right Stuff BH-55 ball head.”
9. L-bracket for EOS bodies
Both David and Alan had L-brackets for their Canon EOS bodies, so they could quickly toggle between horizontal and vertical shooting. “I use a SunwayFoto PCL-R3 L-bracket for my R3, which enables me to access the ports and camera battery drawer,” says David. “It also allows full rotation of the screen, plus the standard Arca-Swiss system that’s compatible with most ballheads.”
10. Infrared photo tips
Light is measured in nanometres. The visible spectrum is between the values 350nm (violet) and 700nm (red). Infrared is the next wavelength band after the colour red, between 700nm and above. “Most digital cameras contain IR blocking filters that stop IR mixing with the visible spectrum, but my IR-converted EOS RP has had this filter removed and a quartz filter installed to protect the sensor’s surface,” explains David.
“Using the Drop-in Filter Mount Adapter EF-EOS R, I can drop one of my three IR filters in front of the sensor. That filter blocks most of the visible light spectrum, but mixes it with a bit of infrared – it is this mix that gives the most creative results.”
If you’re really into landscapes photography, you’ll want to check out the best landscape lenses. David uses a Canon EOS R3. To see his stunning portfolio check out his Instagram, or to book a workshop visit his website.
