nathanlake wrote:
A DSLR and lens have NEVER won a prestigious international competition...or any other competition for that matter. Cameras don't win...photographers do.
Read post 12, Nathan - there was no photographer involved in the capture of the winning shot, just a bloke who set up some motion sensing gear and went to bed.
That's Sweet F.A. to do with photography - and it's exactly like awarding a bloke who installed a speed camera an award for car photography, or crediting the guy who sets up a company's security cameras for his crime photojournalism skills...
I'd have to agree with the above sentiment. If there's no photographer behind the camera looking through the viewfinder/LCD and pressing the shutter button, it shouldn't have won. It's more patience and luck than skill that won it for him. Perhaps the competition is only judged by final image itself, not how it was taken.
I think there's a reason why he chose a wide angle lens with his motion sensor set up. Just in case it's a fast moving subject, the camera would still be able to capture it. There's probably some cropping with that leopard image too.
keithreeder wrote:
Read post 12, Nathan - there was no photographer involved in the capture of the winning shot, just a bloke who set up some motion sensing gear and went to bed.
That's Sweet F.A. to do with photography - and it's exactly like awarding a bloke who installed a speed camera an award for car photography, or crediting the guy who sets up a company's security cameras for his crime photojournalism skills...
I did read them. Yes, there was a photographer. He may not have been present, but he set it up. That is all any photographer does...you set it up and push the button. In this case, he arranged for the subject to press the button, but the process is the same.
n0b0 wrote:
I think there's a reason why he chose a wide angle lens with his motion sensor set up. Just in case it's a fast moving subject, the camera would still be able to capture it.
What makes me laugh is that - if this had been a photograph actually taken by a photographer, and not a demonstration of the working of remote sensors (sorry Nathan, kids playing on their webcams has more to do with "photography" than this thing - we'll have to agree to differ on the value and integrity of this "automated capture") - it would have been rejected out of hand (by me anyway!) as badly framed, soft and out of focus!
It's just not a very good picture, even forgetting the way it was obtained.
nathanlake wrote:
That is all any photographer does...you set it up and push the button. In this case, he arranged for the subject to press the button, but the process is the same.
It really isn't the same - you're likening all photography to the workings of a speed camera.
ahh, what a bunch of crap. Have any of you even visited these region of the Himalayas? Have you tried to set up a camera trap for snow leopards? or for any wild cat for that matter. Ten months of hard work.. Exposure/flash and composition really come together on these shots.
Utterly irrelevant, Kjetils - I'm not interested in how well the guy handled the cold, or how good he is at setting up camera security systems, I'm interested in the process of wildlife photography, and this picture has nothing to do with wildlife photography.
And if you really think that "Exposure/flash and composition really come together on these shots" you're very easily impressed.
I dare you to try and tell me that the winning shot was better than this one:
keithreeder wrote:
Utterly irrelevant, Kjetils - I'm not interested in how well the guy handled the cold, or how good he is at setting up camera security systems, I'm interested in the process of wildlife photography, and this picture has nothing to do with wildlife photography.
And if you really think that "Exposure/flash and composition really come together on these shots" you're very easily impressed.
I dare you to try and tell me that the winning shot was better than this one:
Yeah I am easily impressed by the first good photographs of Snow Leopard in their wild habitat. Nothing to do with wildlife photography? Well, OK... I just don't think Polars Bears and baited Sea-Eagles is very exciting, sorry. Even if the the photographers squeezed the trigger. Not saying that Miguel Lasa's rim-lit bear isn't great work. Great photography is more than pushing the trigger IMHO. Its planning and a vison of the final image. Have you used setups with trailmaster or phototrap? If, so you know the skill required.
wow. the winning photo is the epitome of wildlife photography. this guy took one of the most elusive species on earth and captured it beautifully. he spent months out there. studied the habits of the cats, prepared accordingly, endured unbelievable conditions, and finally got the image.
i'd say that is EXACTLY what wildlife photography is all about. have you seen how other wildlife photographers operate? ever watch the Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe? it's something of a joke. they go to the best places on earth and photograph habituated animals that let you basically walk up to them. BORING. i'd argue that those with huge budgets will always get better pictures, because the goods are delivered right to them. at least in this case, he had to really work it to get this photo.
my hat's off to the man who photographed the snow leopard. his patience, determination, and creativity paid off with a spectacular image.
CarpeyBiggs wrote:
wow. the winning photo is the epitome of wildlife photography. this guy took one of the most elusive species on earth and captured it beautifully. he spent months out there. studied the habits of the cats, prepared accordingly, endured unbelievable conditions, and finally got the image.
i'd say that is EXACTLY what wildlife photography is all about. have you seen how other wildlife photographers operate? ever watch the Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe? it's something of a joke. they go to the best places on earth and photograph habituated animals that let you basically walk up to them. BORING. i'd argue that those with huge budgets will always get better pictures, because the goods are delivered right to them. at least in this case, he had to really work it to get this photo.
my hat's off to the man who photographed the snow leopard. his patience, determination, and creativity paid off with a spectacular image....Show more →
Well said, I completely agree with you and share the sentiment.
The winning photograph was chosen because it was the "most striking and memorable", not pixel peeping sharp or perfect.
Considering that India has an estimated snow leopard population of 200-600 spread over 75,000 sq km....any picture of this animal is striking and memorable.
Interesting series of comments here. Particularly for those of you bashing the winning shot, yet praising the polar bear shot. It's quite obvious from visiting Miguel's site and from looking at the image that it's a polar bear in the headlights of a tundra buggy. I would wager almost 100% certainty that it's NOT backlighting at sunrise or sunset. For one thing, where is the colour in the sky and how do you perfectly silhouette a white bear (keep in mind that BBC doesn't allow retouching to selectively darken the bear, for instance)? I believe the answer lies in a shot Miguel has on his site of the polar bears lit up in the buggy lights (you can see the buggies around the bears) as it gets dark. So how is artificially taking an amazing shot of a snow leopard much different than artificially lighting a polar bear that's hanging around the Cape Churchill buggy hotel because of food scents and maybe even food scraps (why do you think polar bears hang around those hotels and buggies!).
Anyways, personally, I think they're both very interesting and unique shots. I like some of the other winners more than these two, but I still think they're both very worthy of being winners.
john660, miguel says that it is in fact the sun rising over the horizon in his explanation of the photograph. i do agree with your sentiment though. and i am also slightly skeptical of it being sunrise, with no other ambient light in the exposure.
I think that article ran this past summer, but I can't remember for sure.
You can actually buy a copy of the BBC winning image from the National Geographic print store.
Makes you wonder if the image was even eligible (Rule 11: Please avoid entering images that have been widely published in the past 12 months....). I guess it depends on when the image was entered.
As a side note, it wasn't that long ago that National Geographic using digital images was a big deal (less than 5 yrs ago), and now a Rebel XT is worthy. Things have come a long way....
