Lean on Me "Highly Commended" in Wildlife Portrait Competition

[Lesley Smitheringale]

I have just heard that my photograph "Lean on Me" of a pair of rainbow lorikeets was selected as "highly commended" in the Wildlife Portraits competition run by Will Burrard-Lucas and his younger brother Matthew. Here is the article from Burrard-Lucas Blog site

Wildlife Photography Competition Results

We would like to thank everyone who entered our recent Wildlife Portraits competition. Matthew and I have been overwhelmed by the response and have spent the last week sifting through the 3,500 photographs that were submitted.

The overall standard of photography was fantastic and we had an extremely difficult task in whittling the submissions down to a final selection. We had to be very harsh and eliminate any photo that wasn’t technically perfect. We then took into account more subjective factors such as composition, originality, atmosphere and character to pick the images that stood out the most.

In the end Matthew and I unanimously settled on Thomas Vignaud’s Tompot Blenny as our winner. The perfect framing and spot-on exposure combine to beautiful effect. Thomas has used the strobe light masterfully to gain a sense of the blenny looming out of the darkness. Ultimately however, it was the blenny’s characterful face and frilly appendages that clinched it for us! Congratulations to Thomas - he has won a Olympus SP-570UZ digital camera.

We have also selected two runners-up and eight highly commended entries which we feel exhibit the wonderful quality and diversity of the images that were submitted. All of the photographs appearing here fought off stiff competition and deserve special praise.

Given the success of this first competition, we have decided that we will launch another photo competition soon! If you would like to be notified when this competition is announced then please subscribe to our blog via RSS feed or email updates.

Winner: Tompot Blenny by Thomas Vignaud

Tompot Blenny by Thomas Vignaud

“This male Tompot Blenny was trying to keep me away from the precious eggs he was guarding.”

Equipment: Canon 400D, Canon 60mm macro

About Thomas Vignaud

I’m a 23 year old marine biology student, working with the shark population of French Polynesia. I started photography with underwater photography, and now it’s a big part of my life.

Website: www.flickr.com/photos/thomasvignaud

Runners-up:

Timidity by Mark Simms

“I was so lucky to be in the right place at the right time. The deer stood like this for a matter of seconds before running away.”

Equipment: Canon 5D

Mark Simms - IT engineer (and part time wedding photographer!) who loves to take pictures of nature! Some of my best work (such as this photograph) is taken at Richmond Park in London - an amazing place to go!

Lion in a Tree by J.L. “Woody” Wooden

“This male Lion was injured. He positioned himself in this tree so that he would not be dinner for another predator. Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.”

Equipment: Canon EOS 10D & 100-400 L lens

J.L. “Woody” Wooden - BA & MS Brooks Institute. Commercial Photography for 25 years. Photographed lightning 30+ years. Wildlife photography 8 years.

Website: JLWoodyWooden.com

Highly Commended:

Lean on Me by Lesley Smitheringale

“A pair of rainbow lorikeets getting cosy in my garden on a rainy afternoon. Queensland, Australia.”

Equipment: Canon EOS 400 D plus EF70 -200mm f/4L IS USM Zoom Lens

Website: www.lesley-smitheringale-fine-art.com

Stretch by Andy Nguyen

“A breeding Avocet takes a breather at the local wetland. Irvine, California.”

Equipment: Nikon D300, 300mm f4, TC17E

Website: www.ndshow.com

Nurse Shark Sunset by Matthew Potenski

“I found two nurse sharks mating in the shallows and ran to the boat to get my camera. By the time I got back they had finished, but were resting on the bottom. I though I would take a shot of them romantically enjoying the sunset together. Sandy Cay, Bahamas.”

Equipment: Canon 20D, Tokina 10-17 FE zoom, Canon 580 Speedlight Flash

Website: www.matthewdpotenskiphoto.com

Eye Contact by Steffen Binke

“Minke Whale after a spy hop. Great Barrier Reef, Australia.”

Equipment: Nikon D200

Website: minke.com.au

Foggy Roost by Winthrope Hiers

“A pelican’s reflection on a foggy day. Savannah, Georgia.”

Equipment: Sony Cybershot R1

Website: blp.ifp3.com

Snowy Owl in Flight by Brian Hansen

“After a missed vole the bird turned to make another pass and I was able to capture it just as it was starting to come back around. South-East Wisconsin.”

Equipment: Canon 1D Mark III and Canon 500mm f/4.0 IS lens

Website: www.brianhansenimages.com

Frog by Andre Boto

“Nature can give us awesome things such as colors, forms or simply life. Estombar, Portugal.”

Equipment: Canon EOS 30D + Tamron 24-135mm

Brown Spider by Alexander

“Portrait of a spider.”

Equipment: Canon 450D, MP-E65/2.8

Thanks once again to everyone who entered and congratulations to our winners.

Remember, we will be launching another competition soon so make sure you subscribe to our blog via RSS feed or email updates so that you don’t miss out on the fun!