rscheffler
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 p.5 #2 · Wildlife Photographer of the Year | |
AndyByron wrote:
But in this case, the winning shot just isn't that good an image. And more to the point, Steve Winter had 3 other Snow Leopard pictures in the competition that "only" received special commendations - all of which were much better than his winning shot (IMHO). The other 3 images (and the text accompanying them in the book) show that the thought process of composing an image and setting up a remote trigger to detect the animal at the right point in that image is very similar to taking the image while being there - in fact, arguably more difficult and probably involving more forethought and visualisation of the image you're trying to achieve. As opposed to just reacting to a fleeting opportunity....Show more →
Andy, I agree with your last couple sentences (as for which is the best photo... that's a subjective call).
In answer to the naysayers (at the risk of wasting my time writing this lengthy comment): I would say, based on limited experience setting up remote cameras for sports, that it does involve a great deal more forethought and previsualization (creativity) than actually being there and reacting to a situation unfold in front of you. There are a lot of variables to take into consideration and technical challenges to overcome. I think there are some parallels between Winter's remote photos and those by the very skilled sports photographers at Sports Illustrated (and elsewhere) capturing otherwise difficult to achieve images using remote cameras on a regular basis. Take, for example, perhaps one of the best story-telling sports photos of 2008 - the underwater remote camera shot by SI's Heinz Kluetmeier of Michael Phelps beating Milorad Cavic by 0.01 seconds for gold at the Olympics.
Here
I've covered a FINA world championship at which Kluetmeier and his assistant had remotes and saw the great amount of trial and error that went into setting up the cameras. But that's sports, where the athletes are in a relatively controlled environment and the photographer has a pretty good idea of where they'll be at a given moment. Winter steps this up exponentially by capturing an unpredictable wild animal in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure he had to do a lot of research to figure out what areas the cats visit, etc. But aren't these the signs of a great photographer? One who can successfully marry technical concepts beyond the capabilities of most aspiring photographers AND combine such proficiency with a supreme understanding of what is being photographed, whether it's swimmers or extremely rare, reclusive cats, AND bring back the goods! I suspect there's a very good reason Winter was on assignment for NG. How many of us can say we've had that opportunity, let alone the necessary talent?
As for the "winning" photo. I haven't read the rules or judging criteria, but my guess is it's a subjective mix of artistic value (which I believe it has) combined with factors such as degree of difficulty, rarity of the animal, wild vs. captive or habituated, natural habitat, etc., and the story-telling value of the image. IMO, the image has all the right elements for that animal - snow, natural environment, at night when it's probably active and tells me something about it, something that I suspect is often forgotten in the quest for the ultimate technically perfect, yet all too often boring animal photo. For the naysayers, please tell me how it would be possible to capture such an image, one that tells a story about wild snow leopards, in person rather than with remotes. I suspect it's virtually impossible to entice a wild cat to come that close to a human. Winter's NG gallery contains one image of a cat not captured with a remote camera, the one of it disappearing over a distant ridge.
I also want to comment about the apparent concern that abstract images may be getting too much recognition in contests, etc. There is a logical explanation for this. It has gotten much easier for the average photographer to produce images of a high technical quality in the last number of years. As a result, there is an ever growing number of such images posted everywhere, to the point of saturation. Abstract images are a reaction to this. An attempt to create something imperfect and unique that hasn't been seen before. Something which conveys some sort of added emotion to the viewer.
Ron
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Besides, that winning shot doesn't look like it was shot up close, more like cropped.
If we all had all the time and money in the world we could all set up traps and hope for the best why we lounged by the pool!