A ROCK ’n’ roll kangaroo gets onlookers bouncing as it appears to play air guitar.

The upright beast struck the hilarious pose in Perth — and is nominated for the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.

The Western Grey Kangaroo can be seen strumming away as he puts on an impromptu show for fans in Perth, Australia.

Snapper Jason Moore said: “I was driving past a field filled with attractive yellow flowers so I stopped to grab a few photos.

“All of a sudden I notice this individual strumming on his air guitar.”

Other nominees include bickering greenfinch in Poland, a Great Grey Owl sulking in Salt Lake City, two bears shaking paws in Russia and a Seychelles scuba diver looking distinctly fishy.

Last year’s awards saw hilarious snaps, including a headless king penguin.

Awards co-founder Tom Sullam said: “With so much going on in the world, we could all use a bumper dose of fun and laughter.”

A bear gets clobbered in the face after picking a fight with a salmon it planned to eat for lunch in Alaska.

In the Falklands a king penguin stares at his mate who looks headless as he stretches down to scratch an itch.

In Florida, USA, a Racoon gives one photographer a wave and in San Jose California a fox winks as it rests in a quiet wood.

Meanwhile in India a bluebull looks like it can fly away as a crane opens its giant wings to chase it away from its nest.

It’s been a fantastic week for fans of funny animal photos.

Fat Bear Week is underway, with public voting starting Wednesday after the event was nearly a casualty of a US government shutdown, and now the UK-based Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards has revealed its 2023 shortlist.

The public’s help is being enlisted here, too, for the important task of reviewing images showing animals in amusing poses and voting for the most chucklesome in the People’s Choice Award. There’s also a chance to win £500 (around $600) in a prize draw.

Should the crown go to the spherical seal galumphing at speed along the English coast? Or how about the elegant Ubud monkey using its tail as a fake mustache? Perhaps you’re swayed by the delighted turtle befriending a dragonfly, or the high-energy joey throwing “jazz hands” in mid-air.

All this comical anthropomorphization is not without its serious side, though.

The awards, founded in 2015 by professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, also promote wildlife conservation. This year’s competition supports Whitley Fund for Nature, a UK charity that helps fund conservationists around the world.

The expert judges include UK celebrities such as TV presenter Kate Humble and comedian Hugh Dennis, as well as renowned wildlife photographers Daisy Gilardini and Will Bullard-Lucas.

The Overall Winner, Category and Highly Commended Winners will be announced on November 23, with the top image winning a one-week safari in Kenya’s Maasai Mara as well as a handmade trophy.

For the diehards, however, the LOLs don’t stop here.

The first Comedy Wildlife Guided African Safari will launch in Tanzania in October 2024, guided by the awards’ co-founders Hicks and Sullam and wildlife expert Humble.

The eight-night trip costs £11,425 (about $13,900) per person for double occupancy. Watch out for side-splitting moments in those open safari vehicles – ROFL-ing your way into the path of a wildebeest migration is not recommended.

The final shortlist for this year’s Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards is in, showcasing grin-tastic animal antics captured by nature-loving snappers around the globe – including a dove getting rewarded for not paying attention, an otter auditioning for Swan Lake, and a kangaroo rocking out on air guitar.

The brainchild of professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam, the competition was set up in 2015 to focus on “the lighter, humorous side of wildlife photography” while also helping to promote wildlife conservation.

This year the Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards team has elected to highlight the work of the Whitley Fund for Nature, a UK-based charity that’s funded conservation work in 80 countries to the tune of £20 million during its 30-year existence. “We are really chuffed to be able to shine a spotlight on the amazing work they do and hope you will join us in supporting them,” said the Awards organizers.

Otter Kwek/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

The 2023 Comedy Wildlife competition received thousands of entries from amateur snappers and pro-shooters alike, with the final shortlist comprising 41 standalone photographs, three videos and three portfolios to tickle your funny bones.

Judges including wildlife photographers Daisy Gilardini and Will Burrard-Lucas, co-founder of the Born Free Foundation Will Travers OBE, TV presenter Kate Humble and comedian Hugh Dennis will now sort through the selection and pick the winners.

Tzahi Finkelstein/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023

An Affinity Photo People’s Choice Award is also up for grabs, so be sure to visit the gallery to look through all of the standalone photo entries – not just for a giggle or two, but also to be in with a chance to win a £500 cash prize via the People’s Choice link on the Comedy Wildlife website.

The competition’s overall winner will be announced on November 23, and awarded a week-long safari in the Masai Mara, Kenya, in addition to a handmade trophy.

Source: Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards

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The United Kingdom will now allow photography to be prescribed for mental health treatment as part of a new pilot program from Wex Photo Video.

Three community groups in Britain have already signed up for the pilot program, including Arts Network in London, creativeShift in Bristol, and START Centre in Greater Manchester.

One participant from London says she “feels more motivated than ever to use her camera to express [her] emotions,” according to a release from Wex Photo Video.

The National Academy of Social Prescribing (NASP) is a British charity that advocates for treatment that involves things like community interaction and hobbies that can be fulfilling. NASP describes social prescribing as non-medical support that can help address someone’s issues and needs, like loneliness and stress. Additionally, the NASP supports the Wex Photo Video pilot with chief executive Charlotte Osborn-Forde saying, “A key part of the NHS’ Personalised Care program, social prescribing can make a huge difference to people experiencing loneliness, poor mental health or a wide range of physical health conditions.”

Healthcare professionals can refer patients who may benefit from photography. From there, the Photography on Prescription pilot will give patients and community groups access to equipment provided by Wex, and photography masterclasses led by photographer Daniel Regan. Wex offers Canon cameras and participants can have their photos printed in specially-created journals, according to a release. There will also be online resources that Wex says will help beyond the pilot program.

“Photography can be so much more than a hobby; it’s a powerful tool for conveying emotion,” Paul Wareham, Marketing Director of Wex Photo Video, explains in a release. By giving people with mental health difficulties access to masterclasses, equipment, and ongoing support, we want to connect them to a wider community; help develop their self-esteem and give them a channel for self-expression. Whilst photography will never be the total solution, we hope that this project will help some people who are currently struggling.”

According to a release from Wex, the company hopes this will be the first step within a long-term initiative to help people struggling with mental health issues through photography. The group also hopes to add more participating programs and expand its resources.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

Stephen Langdon / Catherine Seidenberg / Aaron Hobson / Barry Goldstein

Whallonsburg, NY – Whitcomb’s Arts is pleased to present a group photography exhibit that invites viewers to experience the Adirondacks through four different lenses, and thereby expand and reimagine our sense of our shared surroundings. NEXTDOOR, curated by Laurie House, will run from October 1-15, with the opening reception and interactive artists’ talks on Sunday, October 8 from 4-7pm. Talks begin at 4:30.

These are not the typical images of the Adirondacks.
Instead, the photographers draw from their unique lived experience to train their keen attention on details, neighbors, landscapes that we may not otherwise notice.

When Plant Ecologist Stephen Langdon walks into a bog in the Adirondacks, he sees an ancient palace that holds a complete record of the past: the story of species, and individuals, and fire, and climate, and humans, since the sun first warmed the ground in this part of the world after 60,000 years buried in a mile of ice.

Stephen Langdon

In her ramblings around the North Country, Catherine Seidenberg’s camera might as well be attached as a third arm as she perpetually seeks glimmers of magic, joy and humor in the natural world. Catherine brings a great sensitivity to often-bypassed beauty, frequently highlighting texture and shadow.

Aaron Hobson narrowly avoided a midlife crisis by spending one hundred days on a rock by a lake, where he made friends with four seagulls and three fellow humans. He documents a summer of avian antics and personal transformation after his u-turn from the globetrotting gallery life.

Documentary photographer Barry Goldstein has worked in Iraq and Afghanistan, covered multiple election cycles, and is the author of “Gray Land: Soldiers on War.” (W.W. Norton, 2009). His latest series finds him closer to his home in Lewis, NY, featuring residents in the North Country.