Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020

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Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Descriptive Audio Tour - Transcript
Stop 01 -- Welcome
It’s my pleasure to welcome you to the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year
exhibition at the ROM! My name is Burton Lim, assistant curator of mammalogy
at the Royal Ontario Museum. I’m thrilled to be able to curate again this popular
exhibition from the Natural History Museum in London, England. The stunning
images you will see during your visit capture unique moments in time and
showcase the diversity of nature.
Affectionately known as WPY, this is the 56th year of what has become the
longest running and most prestigious photography competition on wildlife in the
world. We’re honoured at the ROM to present this spectacular exhibition of
exquisitely displayed back-lit images for the 8th year in a row.
Almost 50,000 pictures were submitted this year from photographers in 86
countries, who come from throughout the world. An eminent panel of 6
international judges chose the best 100 photos for the show. These include the
highly commended and winning images in 17 categories, and 2 overall grand title
winners. All are exceptional photographs that also tell compelling stories about
the beauty of the natural world and the challenges we face on planet Earth —
including current climate change issues.
The 17 categories are grouped into several sections with diverse themes. For
example, the photojournalism section has 3 categories dealing with wildlife
stories on themes of sustainably restoring nature and the consequences of using
wild animals. My favourite section is the young photographers — with age
categories ranging from 10-years and under, 11-14 years, 15-17 years, and the
rising star for 18-26 years old. This is how WPY has nurtured talent for over 2
generations of photographers and launched the careers of visual communicators
in the art of environmental story-telling.
In this descriptive audio tour of the exhibition, we highlight 12 photographs with
strong messages, and dive a bit deeper into their details. You’ll hear my voice to
begin with, but then there’s also Tina Weltz – ROM photographer and Mark Peck
– manager of the ROM’s Schad Gallery of Biodiversity.
Note that the tour stops are identified by a QR code next to each image. We give
a verbal description of the photograph, including subtle details that may not be
obvious at first glance – plus interesting biological aspects related to the image,
and technical specifications giving insight into how the photographer captured
their moment in time.
We hope you enjoy this guided tour, and that the photos give you a new
appreciation of our natural world. The images convey the power of visual
communication to inspire and stimulate public discourse on environmental
concerns.
Before we begin, a quick reminder to please practice physical distancing, and
keep a safe distance of two metres from other visitors when you explore this
exhibition.
Stop 02: Night Hunter
Animal Portraits category / Jonas Classen, Sweden
"Night Hunter” is the first photo on the audio tour. It’s a Highly Commended
image in the Animal Portraits category. It was taken at Örebro, Närke, Sweden by
Jonas Classen.
This photograph is beautiful in its simplicity and shapes. On the left third of the
image, the trunk of a birch tree stretches into the sky. In the top right corner is
the white orb of the moon, out of focus, but identifiable. To the right of the tree is
a great gray owl perched on a branch. The bird leans forward, with its strikingly
round head, and its yellow eyes gazing straight ahead. The right foot is lifted
directly under its chin, facing outward, its claws clenched together. The scene is
bathed in the dark blue of late evening.
The great gray owl is a species found throughout the boreal forests of northern
Europe, Asia, and North America. They live in northern Ontario – but about every
10 years, large numbers move into southern Ontario. This happens when food
resources or snow conditions become too challenging in the north.
Cars may serve as an effective tool in the wildlife photographer’s arsenal. Wild
animals that live near roads often become comfortable with vehicles and don’t
see them as a threat. Photographers can use them as blinds (so they won’t be
seen) – they’ll stick their cameras out of the car’s window to take pictures without
disturbing the animal.
In this picture, Jonas went a step further, using the car’s headlights as his primary
light source. He combined this with very high film speed of ISO 3200, which
allowed the camera’s sensor to capture more light. The result? He was able to get
the details in the owl’s face and body – despite it being backlit from the moonlight
Stop 03: The Perfect Catch
Young Photographers: 15 – 17 years old category / Hannah Vijayan, Canada
This photo is a Highly Commended image in the Young Photographers: 15-17
Year-Old category. Called “The perfect catch”, it was taken by Hannah Vijayan
from Canada on Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve, in Alaska.
In the centre of the frame, a brown bear stares right at you, while holding a silver
salmon in its mouth. It wades in a shallow river in front of a bank of tall green
grass. Instead of catching fish jumping up waterfalls, this female had simply
dunked her head in the water to get this meal. The bear and its catch are
reflected in the flat surface of the calm waters. The grass in the background
nicely frames the subject, with its reflection.
The Alaskan brown bear is one of the largest of this species. Males weigh up to
450 kilograms or 990 pounds. Females are about one-third less in weight. These
bears have an omnivorous diet (meaning they eat all sorts of things) – feeding on
grasses, berries, and small animals. In the summer, they gorge on spawning
salmon caught swimming upstream. Their daily feast of about 30 fish fattens
them for the winter hibernation, which lasts from late autumn to early spring.
To take the photo, Hannah sought out a quieter place away from the waterfall,
where many others were busy taking pictures of brown bears catching sockeye
salmon. She found a spot on the river that was much calmer, where she captured
this tranquil scene. A fast shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second and a high
sensitivity film speed-setting of ISO 2200 allowed her to hand-hold the camera. A
300 millimetre telephoto lens also helped her to freeze this perfect catch.
Stop 04: Snow Moose
Young Photographers: 15 – 17 years old category / Matthew Henry, Canada
Matthew Henry from Canada took this photo titled “Snow Moose” at Riding
Mountain National Park in Manitoba. It was Highly Commended in the Young
Photographers: 15-17 Years category.
The left side of the photo features a close-up profile of a moose’s head looking to
the right over its left shoulder. Blurry snow is falling, but a few flakes on the
moose’s forehead stand out in crisp detail. At the upper left of the image is the
moose’s dark eye; its distinctly robust snout angles down towards the lower
middle of the frame. In the background is the darker brown fur of its body, wet
and spotted with snow.
Moose are the largest living species of deer. They weigh up to 700 kilograms or
1,540 pounds and reach about 2 metres or 6 feet high at the shoulders. As with
most deer, only males have antlers – these grow in the spring for the mating
rituals of the autumn, then fall off for the winter.
Moose are herbaceous browsers… aquatic plants and leaves form the bulk of their
summer diet. During winter, moose forage primarily on bark and twigs, with
willow being a main food resource.
The moose seen here became an ideal photographic subject when it began to
walk towards the car with Matthew inside. The moose stopped to drink water
from a puddle, surveying its surroundings from time to time. This gave Matthew
the opportunity to try different camera settings and find interesting angles. He
used a 70-200 millimetre zoom lens to capture this full frame close-up picture.
Stop 05: Kid’s Game
Behaviour: Mammals category / Yossi Eshbol, Israel
Hi, I’m Tina Weltz, photographer at the ROM.
Titled “Kid’s Game”, this photograph was taken in the Negev Mountains, Israel, by
Yossi Eshbol from Israel. His entry was Highly Commended in the Behaviour:
Mammals category.
Here we find ourselves in the soft light of early morning. In the foreground are
two rocky cliff faces separated by a narrow ravine. In the background, far below
the cliffs, the valley stretches up into the horizon at the top of the frame. In this
photo are two young ibex -- a type of wild goat. One of the ibex stands at the
edge of the cliff on the right, facing the ravine. And, high, frozen in mid-leap
between two cliff faces, is our subject -- another young ibex, caught in the
decisive moment of success or failure.
Nubian ibex are found in desert areas of northern Africa and the Middle East.
Adult males have long, thin horns that sweep up and back behind the head. These
may be over a metre or 3 feet long. Adult males are solitary for most of the year,
but will join up with small herds of females and young, immature males during
the breeding season.
For the photograph, Yossi had positioned himself perfectly. The light was still low,
so he set the film speed of the camera a little higher than normal, allowing for
more light to reach the sensor. In turn, this allowed him to use a faster shutter
speed to stop the action of the young ibex, while still maintaining focus.
The view through the camera is similar to what the human eye would see from
the same distance. The biggest challenge for Yossi was to capture the “decisive
moment” – when the viewer can’t help but ask: Is the young ibex going to make
it?
Stop 06: Big Bat Bloodsucker
Behaviour: Invertebrates category / Piotr Naskrecki, USA
With the aptly alliterative title “Big bat bloodsucker”, this photograph was taken
at Bunga Inselbergs, Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. The photographer,
Piotr Naskrecki, is a Polish-born American. His entry was Highly Commended in
the Behaviour: Invertebrates category.
This is one of the few portrait-oriented photos in the exhibition. It’s a close-up
shot of the head of a small bat with a large, orange-red, six-legged, spider-like
creature clamped over its eyes. The creature is an ectoparasite – an organism that
lives, and feeds, on the skin of its host.
The bat’s head is about half the width of a finger, and covered in greyish brown
fur. Its forehead and eyes are fully covered by the “hitchhiking” ectoparasite. The
bat’s mouth is slightly ajar, revealing its tongue, ridged palate, and pointed white
teeth.
The ectoparasite feeds on its host’s blood. Many bats have these parasitic batflies
– this one looks similar to a spider. It has a primarily white body, with orange
markings. Six long, orange-red legs end in claws gripping its host. The creature is
covered with dark, bristly hairs. This species belongs to a family of flies
characterized by several features – no wings, tiny eyes, a head on top of its back,
and legs that fold backwards.
Most bat ectoparasites are host specific, which means they latch onto only one
species and rarely leave their home. The host in this case is the Mozambique long-
fingered bat, recently described as a species new to science in 2013.
The photographer is a trained entomologist who specializes in grasshopper-like
katydids. But when he noticed an ectoparasite on a bat during a larger
biodiversity survey, his avocation for photography kicked into gear. He grabbed
his camera with a 100 millimetre macro lens to photograph this large tiny blood
sucker. To get in focus all of the fine details, he used a small aperture opening of
f16.
Stop 07: Father Protector
Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles category / Jaime Calubras, Spain
Jaime Calubras of Spain took his photograph, titled “Father Protector,” at El Jardín
de los Sueños, Cotopaxi, in Ecuador. It was Highly Commended in the category of
Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles.
This is a photograph of echoing translucence. The head of a male Atrato glass frog
is positioned just above the centre of the photograph. The frog’s gold and brown
speckled eyes face forward. The top of the frog’s head is a light green and yellow,
blending in beautifully with the green, out-of-focus background. Below the
translucent underside of the frog are 9 transparent eggs. Each one contains a
semi-translucent tadpole with body speckles echoing the eyes of the adult frog.
More than 120 species of glass frogs are found throughout the lowland forests of
Central and South America. Glass frogs are small, less than 7 cm or 3 inches in
length. Most are a lime green colour on the back, with the underside of many
species being white and almost transparent. This allows the heart and other
organs to be seen through the skin.
Atrato glass frogs lay as many as 25 eggs each on leaves hanging over streams.
Males then cling on to protect their developing offspring from predators and
dehydration. Once hatched, the tadpoles drop into the water below.
Photographing small amphibians can be challenging – it requires some special
camera gear and several steps. Step One: A good macro lens allows you to get
close to your subject and still maintain focus.
Step Two: Using 2 flash units rather than one gives lighting on both sides of the
subject, then a softbox helps dilute and spread out the light from the flashes, so
it’s not too harsh. Step Three: Getting to eye level with your subject gives the
viewer a stronger connection and the subject a stronger personality.
The end result? … Beautiful!
Stop 08: Wolf Mountain
Animals in their Environment category / Lorenzo Shoubridge, Italy
This photograph was Highly Commended in the Animals in their Environment
category. It is titled “Wolf Mountain” and was taken by Italian Lorenzo
Shoubridge at Apuan Alps Regional Park in Tuscany, Italy.
This photo features a clear, starry night with a mountain in the background. In
the lower left of the photo are two grey wolves walking along a rocky path. They
are caught mid-stride, their heads down, mouths agape, and tails pointed
skyward. They are nicely illuminated, emerging from the darkness of their alpine
setting. The landscape appears to be mostly barren rock, except for a few
bunches of grass and low-lying vegetation on either side of the path.
Based on their morphology and genetics, grey wolves in Italy are considered by
some scientists to be a distinct population. Their numbers plummeted to less
than 100 individuals in the 1970s, when they were given protected status. The
population has since rebounded to about 700 wolves and they have spread to
neighbouring France and Switzerland. Now they are being hunted over concerns
about them killing livestock – but wolves actually play an important role in
keeping the ecosystem balanced. They prey on herbivores such as deer, which
helps maintain the abundance of natural vegetation.
To photograph wolves at night, Lorenzo set a camera-trap triggered by an infrared
motion sensor detector along a trail used by these predators. He painstakingly
took several hours adjusting the camera – mounting it on a tree to include not
only the trail in the image, but also the mountains and sky as a backdrop. He set
his zoom lens to a wide angle of 25 millimetres to get as close to the wolves as
possible while capturing the scenic vista.
Stop 09: Jelly Nanny
Under Water category / Songda Cai, China
Hi, my name is Mark Peck and I’m the Manager of the Schad Gallery of
Biodiversity at the Royal Ontario Museum
This photograph was Highly Commended in the Under Water category. It is titled
“Jelly Nanny” and was taken at Anilao, Calabarzon, in the Philippines, by Songda
Cai, from China.
The image seems a bit confusing at first glance. The background is black and there
is a purplish bubble in the middle. But look more closely… within the bubble is – a
silver fish with a bright yellow eye, and what looks like a pink flower on its side.
Well, now we are closer to the answer, but still not quite right. It turns out what
we have here is a small fish inside a jellyfish! The fish, known as a trevally, is not
trapped at all, but is actually seeking refuge from predators, using the belly of the
jellyfish for protection.
In fact, at least 80 species of fish turn to jellyfish for protection – and the jellyfish
usually do not suffer nor benefit from this practice. However, if seawater grows
more acidic, as predicted with climate change, it could affect the senses of the
fish, causing them to become less attracted to their hosts. They may then spend
more time in the open, exposed to predators.
The photographer, Songda Cai, is well known as a “black water photographer”. If
you are unfamiliar with the phrase, it refers to photographing at night far from
the shore and in the deep ocean. Black water photographers are tethered to the
boat for safety, as the bottom is often thousands of feet deep, and it’s easy to get
disoriented about the way back to the surface. It’s not for the faint of heart!
Whether done in black water or shallower depths, whether done during the day
or at night, underwater photography relies on special equipment. The cameras
are the same as those used above water, but underwater, protective, water-proof
housing is essential. Flash is regularly used to illuminate the subject, and wide
angle lenses ensure the lighting is strong enough to reach the subject.
Stop 10: The Price of Oil
Wildlife Photojournalism category / Andrew S Wright, Canada
Titled “The Price of Oil”, this is a Highly Commended photo in the Wildlife
Photojournalism category. It was taken at Kern River Oil Field in California, by
Andrew S. Wright of Canada. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of
Visual Arts at the University of Ottawa.
Here is another image where, on first inspection, it is hard to determine exactly
what’s happening. Although not completely devoid of colour, there is something
colourless about it. It features a pale brown landscape with dead, yellowing
vegetation, black hydro poles, and a colony of black pump jacks going about their
lifeless, never-ending work – bringing oil to the surface, 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. The graphic scene has an otherworldly, disturbing feel to it.
A pump jack is the above-ground portion of an oil well’s piston pump, used to
bring oil to the surface when there is insufficient underground pressure. Pump
jacks are common in oil-rich areas where oil is difficult to extract. They look a little
like an alien animal moving slowly in the landscape, and are also known as
nodding donkeys.
The photograph was taken from 3 km (or almost 2 miles) away, with a zoom lens
at 400 mm focal length, and a tripod to prevent camera shake, for sharp focus.
Telephoto lenses compress depth of field, often giving images more of a two-
dimensional feel. In this case, the choice of lens allows the viewer to see the
entire field of action – similar to when you look down on the players from high up
in a sports stadium.
Stop 11: World of Tar
Wildlife Photojournalism category / Garth Lenz, Canada
Garth Lenz from Canada took his photo “World of Tar” in the Alberta Oil Sands.
This work was Highly Commended in the Wildlife Photojournalism category.
The image is shot from high above the tar sands as the light fades into the
evening. Two roads, one on each side of the image, lead you into a desolate world
– toward a factory belching out smoke into a grey, leaden sky far in the distance.
The landscape is one of dead ponds… a land that has been scraped clean of life,
leaving a vast oily emptiness in its place. Canadian photographer Garth Lenz,
based in western Canada, has spent much of his career looking at the contrast
between the industrial and natural landscapes there.
Consumption of fossil fuels by Canadians not only has a direct negative impact on
climate change but, in the case of the tar sands, is destroying huge swaths of the
boreal forest. This is an ecosystem that can store twice as much carbon per
hectare as tropical rainforest. Consider… while it is easy to lay blame on the oil
industry for this destruction, almost all of us willingly make use of oil products,
which continue to be an important part of Canada’s economy.
Photographing the tar sands in the evening light emphasizes the greyness and the
destruction of the landscape. The angle and the use of aerial photography for this
image allows viewers to get a stronger feel for the vast scale of environmental
damage caused by the oil sands.
Stop 12: When the rain came rolling in
Earth’s Environments category / Zack Clothier, USA
“When the rain came rolling in” is a Highly Commended photo in the Earth’s
Environments category. It was taken at Uncompahgre National Forest in Colorado
by Zack Clothier from the United States.
The perspective of this photograph takes it from ground level to above a
mountainous landscape. More than half of the lower frame is an extensive
mudflat that has dried into large, fragmented, greyish chunks, and past that, a
lake. Beyond this is a rolling terrain of dense, yellow-foliaged forest that reaches
up the slope of a craggy-summit, shrouded by mist. At the top of the image is a
pinkish sun-lit sky, with dark grey rain clouds hovering over the mountain peaks.
Recent droughts in the southwest United States are attributed to climate change
and rising temperatures. After almost no rainfall for months, this lake had shrunk
to create a daunting barrier for animals seeking water. The photograph suggests
that some relief may finally be coming.
A wide angle 14-24 millimetre lens, in combination with the technique of “focus
stacking”, were used to achieve this striking composition. The stacking technique
uses several photos with varying depths of field – these are merged into one
image using commercially available software. Although the individual photos
have different parts in focus and others out of focus, the final image is sharp
throughout.
Stop 13: The Last Bite
Wildlife Photographer Portfolio category / Ripan Biswas, India
Ripan Biswas from India is the Winner of the Wildlife Photographer Portfolio
Award. This photo, one of 6 in his portfolio, is called “The Last Bite”. It was taken
at Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal, India.
A colourful long-legged tiger beetle fills the frame of this macrophotography shot.
Macrophotography is a technique that takes close-ups of small things, such as
insects, to depict them as larger than life.
The beetle is primarily bright aqua-blue with large splotches of orange throughout
its body. Its underside is covered with extensive patches of white hairs. The beetle
has large bulging black eyes, menacingly sharp pincher jaws, and 2 long antennae.
The head faces the right side of the photo in profile. On closer examination, a
small yellowish-brown weaver ant is biting the right hind leg of the 6-legged
beetle. Ripan took this picture at the eye-level of the beetle as it walked on a dry
sandy river bed.
This “David and Goliath” struggle involves two predatory insects. Weaver ant
colonies may number in the hundreds of thousands. The larger worker ants fan
out to scour the area for small invertebrate prey. Tiger beetles are more solitary
hunters – and the photographed individual began feasting on the smaller species.
This weaver ant wasn’t going down without a fight! It glommed onto the leg of its
much bigger adversary, but it was on the losing end of the battle as the attacking
beetle eventually struck back.
The photographer used a 90 millimetre macro lens at ground level to get this
intimate point of view of these insect predators. A ring flash makes the tiger
beetle pop out of the sandy white background. Ripan has chosen an intermediate
depth of field with an aperture setting of f8. This captures the ant, the leg of
attack, and the body of the beetle all in focus. The beetle’s other 5 legs (slightly in
the foreground and background) are out of focus.
This concludes our audio tour. Thanks for visiting Wildlife Photographer of the
Year! We hope you enjoyed the exhibition, and the rest of your visit to the ROM!