What the judges really think of your photos | September

05 October 2016 - 02:00 By Tiara Walters
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Ground pangolin, Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve, Northern Cape.
Ground pangolin, Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve, Northern Cape.
Image: Nicky Souness

Want to get ahead in the Sunday Times Wilderness Photograph of the Year competition? Take a tour of the judges’ brains – and find out how they rated each of September’s top 10 shots in the Endangered Africa and Wildlife Behaviour categories

sub_head_start ENDANGERED AFRICA sub_head_end

Entries in this category tell a moving story about the fragile nature of Africa’s rare or endangered wild landscapes, animals and plants. Images are scored on technical proficiency, artistic value, power of the message, uniqueness of the sighting, ethical value and overall impact.

 

SEPTEMBER WINNER: A ground pangolin (pictured above) uses its extraordinarily long, sticky tongue to catch ants and termites at Tswalu, Northern Cape. Pangolins are some of the world’s most illegally traded mammals.

THE JUDGES SAID: Unbelievable image. To see a pangolin is a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. Its behaviour is something few people are fortunate enough to experience. To capture it is extraordinary. And to capture it as well as this – with perfect timing, lighting and composition – is astonishing.

 

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SECOND SPOT: Planks of Mulanje cedar – one of the world’s most endangered plants and Malawi’s national tree – are carried down Mount Mulanje by poachers. The critically endangered tree grows on a single mountain, Mount Mulanje, and now covers less than 5km².

THE JUDGES SAID: Beautifully composed image that poignantly captures the everyday threats to Africa's ecosystems, and the lengths ordinary people will go to in order to illegally benefit from their exploitation. The visual subtleties - including the smoke plumes - entrench the insidiousness of the threat.

 

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THIRD SPOT: A herd of elephant emerge through a silhouetted cloud of dust, Etosha National Park, Namibia.

THE JUDGES SAID: Spectacular. The silhouettes in the dust and low light tell the story in tones that underpin the threat facing Africa's vulnerable elephants. Even though there is no detail on the elephants, the image is still striking and moody.

 

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FOURTH SPOT: A wild dog pup emerges from its den at Imfolozi Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal. The wild dog is an endangered carnivore, threatened by human encroachment.

THE JUDGES SAID: There is a poignancy to the expression on this pup's face that seems to say much about its endangered lot. The shallow depth of field brings this to the fore, the blurred background somehow emphasising the greater uncertainty facing this individual. Marvellous interaction with a rare predator.

 

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FIFTH SPOT: Bearded vulture circling a cliff at Giant’s Castle, Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal.

THE JUDGES SAID: This species is incredibly threatened by changing land use and shrinking habitat, yet the vast majority of people in Lesotho and South Africa are unaware of the degree of threat. Wonderfully isolated subject, adding strong impact and drama.

 

sub_head_start WILDLIFE BEHAVIOUR sub_head_end

Entries in this category shine a spotlight on the extraordinary (and often secret) lives of wild animals, aquatic life, birds or insects. Images are scored on technical proficiency, artistic value, power of the message, uniqueness of the sighting, ethical value and overall impact.

 

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SEPTEMBER WINNER: A female cub peers from behind a trunk at her growling father who is protecting his kill up in the tree. Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Mpumalanga.

THE JUDGES SAID: The focal point on the female, and the male in the blurred foreground, mirror the feigned ambivalence often displayed in such confrontational situations. The female’s half-hidden face says much about leopard behaviour. Storytelling in a single image is the most difficult kind of art. This one gets it right.

 

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SECOND SPOT: A pied kingfisher returns from excavating its new nest site at Intaka Island in Cape Town.

THE JUDGES SAID: Intriguing behaviour; all the more meaningful given the urban, 'close-to-home' location that demonstrates an ability to derive insights into behavioural ecology without having to travel far. The light is as good as it gets. Excellent clarity, right down to the bird’s tongue.

 

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THIRD SPOT: A swallow-tailed bee-eater perches with a snack in its bill, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

THE JUDGES SAID: The abstract angle is initially quite striking, but the detail of the bee held delicately by the thorax makes the image. It is all about point of view. Looking at the image from this perspective, the viewer sees something familiar in a new way.

 

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FOURTH SPOT: Zebra gather at the Mara river, Kenya, wondering if they should cross its croc-infested waters. This image was September’s Public Choice winner.

THE JUDGES SAID: Beautifully composed with the black and white aspect enhancing this, and indeed the confusion of a zebra herd milling on the Mara banks. The image speaks of abundance, giving some idea of the pressure that drives these herd animals together when facing stressful conditions.

 

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FIFTH SPOT: An individual of a typically hyperactive species simply being quiet and contemplative. Vervet monkey, Mountain Zebra National Park, Eastern Cape.

THE JUDGES SAID: Light fills the eyes beautifully. To get beautiful lighting in the eyes is what makes an ordinary image striking. A strongly emotive and uncommon capture of a common animal in many protected areas. Creates a fine, contemplative mood. 

 

Enter your photographs in the Sunday Times Wilderness Photograph of the Year competition and you could win your share of R600,000 in safaris, camera gear and cash prizes.

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