SA photojournos snap up global awards
FOUR local photographers have been recognised among the best in categories such as Animal Portraits, Behaviour: Mammals and 15-17 years old, in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London.
Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten claimed the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 title for his image, The Golden Couple, which frames a pair of golden snub-nosed monkeys in the temperate forest of China’s Qinling Mountains, the only habitat for these endangered primates.
The winning portrait captures the beauty and fragility of life on Earth.
Chairperson of the judging panel Roz Kidman Cox said: “This image is in one sense traditional – a portrait. But what a striking one, and what magical animals. It is a reminder of the beauty of nature and how impoverished we are becoming as nature is diminished.
“It is an artwork worthy of hanging in any gallery in the world.”
Natural History Museum director Sir Michael Dixon said: “In a world in thrall to special effects, this image celebrates the majestic and otherworldly presence of nature, and reminds us of our crucial role in protecting it.”
South African Skye Meaker, 16, took the award for Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year with his charming portrait of a leopard waking from sleep at the Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana. He wanted to be a nature photographer since receiving his first pocket camera when he was 7.
Cool Cat by Isak Pretorius was highly commended in the Animal Portrait category, as was The Meerkat Mob by Tertius A Gous in the Animal Behaviour category, and Late-night Feed by Susan Scott, her image from the film Stroop – Journey into the Rhino Horn War shot in KwaZulu-Natal. |