The Wildlife Photographer of the Year
- jamesyates14
- Jan 14
- 6 min read
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is an annual photography competition that was first launched in 1965. Since 1984 the competition has been run and exhibited by the Natural History Museum in London. It is often described as the most prestigious wildlife and nature photography competition in the world; with almost 60,000 images being submitted annually in recent years. As mentioned previously, this competition is a big reason for me becoming involved within the photography hobby in the first place and my new life-goal is to see one of my images exhibited as a part of the 100 winning photographs.
In order to achieve this lofty ambition I am required to engage in some planning. As with most photographic competitions the WPY has a number of rules that are required to be followed upon entry; these range from ensuring images do not harm or damage wildlife to a limitation on the post-processing techniques that are permitted. Given that I started my photography journey back in 2016 there is one rule that is especially pertinent to my submissions - *Photographs must have been shot within the past five years. The capture date must be after October 2021 and evidenced on request.*
Understandably, this rules out a number of my images; specifically any taken before 2022. All of these older images were taken with my Canon 1200D, a DSLR camera with relatively low specifications and not one that you often see used by the awarded photographers. That being said some of these, now non-permitted, images are ones that I would consider amongst my best and so I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the stories behind a few of them - and reminisce about what could have been had I entered them sooner!
I bought my first DSLR camera whilst residing in London and so most of my early wildlife images were captured within the capital. Whilst the wildlife exhibited in the WPY is usually more ‘exotic’ than that found within London, years of becoming visiting the same, local locations meant I quickly became proficient in my knowledge of the best places, times and techniques to photograph some of the capitals best known (as well as some slightly more unknown) wildlife species. A short stroll through some of my local green spaces would see me find European robins, mute swans and grey herons but living in the capital also provided me with the opportunity to photograph so much more than just that. Vibrant (and invasive) ring-necked parakeets, the UKs largest species of deer, beautifully coloured waterfowl such as mandarin ducks and Egyptian geese as well as magnificent Indian peafowl all were found on my doorstep. London is a larger wildlife haven than anyone could imagine and, having lived there for a number of years, I had the pleasure of witnessing all these magnificent animals in person - capturing their memories on my camera when the miserable UK weather allowed it!
Of my earliest photos, one of my absolute favourites is this one of an Eurasian coot. This small waterbirds are recognisable in the UK thanks to their all black plumage and distinct brilliant white beak. This colouration actually meant I found these birds difficult to photograph when I first started out (the autofocus on my Canon 1200D struggled to lock-in to black coloured subjects such as coots or crows) and so this image is one that that I distinctly remember as being the first coot shot I was genuinely proud of.
Unfortunately, despite photographing these birds since, this image is still probably the best I have on record - but we’ll put that down to this image being that good rather than any declining skills on my part. I took this image at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (a regular spot for my photographic inspiration). Kew Gardens is a famous botanical garden in London and one that is home to a staggering amount of exotic flora.
The swamp cypress is one such species. It is a tree that is native to the southeastern USA but one that became a popular ornamental tree to plant near lakes and rivers in London as its root structure is highly adapted to water-heavy soils. During one of my regular visits to the gardens I noticed that a pair of Eurasian coots had constructed a nest in the shadow of one of the huge, ancient cypress found along the lakeside and, by pure coincidence, one of the adults was standing atop the remnants when I passed on a dreary afternoon. The coot reminded me of a royal guard, unmoving in its protection of the tree that had provided shelter for its nest earlier in the year. I took a few shots and this one, with the coot standing on one leg facing straight down my camera lens was my favourite.
This image also holds a special place in my collection as it was one that actually won an award in a photographic competition. This shot was awarded as a *Finalist* in the special ‘Captured at Kew’ category of the International Garden Photographer Award (IGPOTY) back in 2022. It was subsequently put on display within the gardens as part of the competitions exhibition and seeing my image amongst some of the best in the world was a surreal experience. This image holds the honour of being the highest awarded photograph that I have ever entered into a competition and so will always have a proud place within my portfolio.
Alongside my London exploits I have also been extremely lucky to have traversed the globe rather frequently over the years (those six-week teacher summer holidays are very much appreciated). Whilst travelling I have often taken my camera along and some of my favourite images have been captured overseas. One particularly memorable trip was when I visited the tropical island of Borneo in 2019. I was fortunate enough to see orangutans in the wild but I also managed to capture a pair of images that I feel may have been competition worthy.
The Southern pig-tailed macaque is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with populations declining due to habitat loss, hunting and the illegal wildlife trade. Deforestation, especially to make way for expansive palm oil plantations in Borneo, has seen their nature habitat area significantly decrease over the past few decades. I photographed this inquisitive youngster whilst on a river boat safari. A small troop of macaques were roaming in the trees overhanging the water and this juvenile came down to take a closer inspection of our watercraft. I managed to capture the moment the macaque’s large eyes stared out from behind a perfectly shaped leaf. This natural framing, alongside the macaque’s conservation status, make it a shot that I think would have been well suited to a competition such as the WPY.
The second is this one of a rare Chassen’s frilled tree frog. Borneo is home to a large number of frog species but the frilled tree frogs are particularly difficult to spot. As you can tell these guys are masters of camouflage; with frilly skin, a textured body and earthy toned colouration it blends seamlessly into the tree bark. I would never have spotted this one had it not been for our eagle-eyed guide. I took this shot as the frog sat flush against the tree trunk and, despite it being of one the smallest species I have ever captured on my camera, it was another that I think would have made an interesting competition entry. In fact it almost did…
It is the image that has brought me the closest to actually achieving my lifetime aim. I actually managed to enter this image into the WPY competition back in 2023 and was shocked when I received the notification that it had been shortlisted! Unfortunately that’s as far as my experience progressed. So close! Although not that close when you consider only 8% of all images submitted made it to the final round and 0.02% of the total entries were actually awarded.
Still, after the initial disappointment, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride at making it to the final round and knowing that my image would have been viewed amongst the eventual winners was a very surreal feeling. In a way I guess it’s a good thing this shot did not make the awardees as otherwise my From the Museum and Back Again series, and the motivation it provides, would never have come to fruition but the knowledge that this image came as close as I have ever been to achieving my dream is somewhat surreal.
Within the permitted competition time scale I have taken wildlife images across the globe as well as back home in London. Over the next year or so I will be sharing all the steps I have taken (and will take) in an attempt to make my dream a reality - during that process I’d love your support and thoughts but, be warned, this is a project that could last a long time so buckle up, ignite that photographic enthusiasm and see if I can make it From the Museum and Back Again!
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