Do you remember me mentioning the photography exhibit I missed because I was playing in the snow? I had the chance to go this morning with d3, so I woke her up early and hopped the bus to the Natural History Museum.
The Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit is showing at the Natural History Museum until 3 March. The annual contest (currently in its 49th year) is co-owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide. The judging panel received 48,000 entries from 98 countries, which they distilled to the final 100 photographs on display.
When I entered the gallery I was surprised to see that the photographs were not framed and hung on the wall. The gallery, arranged by award category; Underwater Worlds, Wildscapes, Nature in Black and White, Creative Visions, Animal Portraits, Behavior: Mammals/Birds/Cold-Blooded Animals, Animals in their Environment, Botanical Realms as well as a “Young Photographer” category (10 and under, 11 – 14, 15- 17, presents the photographs in a stunning, backlit format.
Photograph by Francisco Mingorance (Spain), Spirit of the Volcano sourced here
Commended, Botanical Realms category 2012
Each photograph was accompanied by an interesting back-story about the subject and setting and a map showing where the photo was taken. The display also noted the technical details involved in taking the photo (type of camera, lenses, filters and other things I don’t understand but wish I did).
The photographs were stunning. One made my cry. They all took my breath away. Patrons filled out an exit questionnaire (voluntary) asking us to list our favorite photograph. We argued for a bit, went back through the gallery and settled on our favorite seven. It was a difficult choice.
Photograph by Charlie Hamilton James (UK), Lookout for Lions, sourced here http://www.charliehamiltonjames.co.uk/
Specially Commended, Nature in Black and White category, 2012
Photograph by David Maitland (UK), Sands of Time sourced here
http://www.davidmaitland.com/
Runner up, Creative Visions category, 2012
Even if you have only a passing interest in photography, the exhibition is well worth it. My daughter and I were incredibly inspired and spent a significant amount of time flipping through the photography books in the museum bookshop. Maybe there’s hope for my photography after all.
Things to know:
The exhibit ends 3 March.
Entry cost is £10 for adults, £5 for students/concessions, free for museum members.
Check for details here before you go.
You can see some of the photographs online , using a search feature, although they are much better seen in person.
A stunning post Explat. Thank you! I will pass the word around to my friends. I love the way you too include photos in your blog. The photos are one of the highlights, along with the sensible info you pass on so helpfully. Can’t wait for your next post!
The exhibit was amazing and inspirational. I suspect your dh may enjoy the photos as well. There is another wildlife exhibit going on at the Horniman. I haven’t been yet, but it looks interesting. Here’s the link http://tinyurl.com/augwy6k
Here I am not unhappily mired in teaching ninth-graders about the Han Empire of ancient China. What could be better? Other than this marvelous exhibit, of course. Alas, March break comes too late, but many thanks for the pics.
Ah, to be in the midst of all those happy, eager little minds! You may be too late for this particular exhibit, but there are other things to do in London
Endless things to do. Thanks for reading!
What a beautiful exhibit! Those photos are amazing – especially the crocodile. What a fabulous opportunity to see those photos! And how nice that they have a young photographers category too.
They are amazing! I really enjoyed the story behind how the photographer shot the photo. For the alligator, I guess he stood out in the Florida heat for hours, battling the mosquitos to get the shot. “One evening, while walking along the riverbed of the Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, Florida, USA, one evening, Larry came across a group of alligators. It was the dry season, and they had been gorging on fish trapped in the pools left behind as the water receded from the river. One big alligator had clearly eaten its fill. ‘It wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry,’ says Larry. ‘So I set my tripod and camera up about seven metres in front of him and focused on his eyes.’ Just after sunset, Larry set his flash on the lowest setting to give just a tiny bit of light, enough to catch the eyeshine in the alligator’s eyes. Like cats, an alligator has a tapetum lucidum at the back of each eye – a structure that reflects light back into the photoreceptor cells to make the most of low light. The colour of eyeshine differs from species to species. In alligators, it glows red – one good way to locate alligators on a dark night. The greater the distance between its eyes, the longer the reptile, in this case, very long.” Honestly, though…it just makes my hair stand on end.
These pictures are amazing, it’s a beautiful exhibition. I am not too sure what the second photo is