Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 exhibition review (Rexan)

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011

The Australian Museum opened their Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 exhibition in Sydney. It has started on the 10^th of December 2011. The Australian Museum features a group of 108 wildlife photographs that has been chosen for the 2011 competition. The BBC sponsors the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 competition and the Natural History museum must be the most important in the world according to their official website and truly create a centre of attention internationally. The collections of 108 photographs displayed have been selected from 95 countries. This is the 47th year that this competition been going for and it has attracted around 41.000 if not more by now.

There are collections of humorous polar bears to lively cheetah cubs and misty sunsets and some other unique photographs form the North Pole night-lights. These unique photographs appreciate the magnificence and delicateness of the world in which we live in. My tour around the gallery walls allowed me time to look into the prints clearly, analyse, think and consider the influences behind each photograph.

A few of those standout photographers surprised me because we share the same idea of photographing wildlife. Martin Cooper ‘s work (On the Tracks of a Coyote), Ilkka Räsänen (Tern Style), Stephane vetter (Heavenly Light Show), David Fettes (Pool of Hippos) and last but not least Paul Goldstein (Family Tree) were among the strongest in the exhibition, they integrated strong masterpiece and an artistic eye for encapsulating the natural world.

David Fetter (Pool of Hippos)

I absolutely loved David Fettes’s dramatic portrait ‘Pool of Hippos’. In this photograph, one hippo rises slowly from the water and looks straight at the camera, and for me the hippo looked at the camera knowing that he is going to get himself photographed. The background was out of focus with other hippos and the colours were balanced. Of the many animal portrait photographs that I have seen over the years, David Fettes is one of the best animal portrait photographer that I have ever seen, Specially that hippos spend almost whole day sleeping and resting in or near water.

Paul Goldstein (Family Tree)

There are other strong photographs in the exhibition that I can individually identify, but the one that stands out from the rest is titled ‘Family Tree’ taken by Paul Goldstein. Everything in this shot is impressive, but what impresses me the most is the title itself, for me giving a smart title to your shots that really defines what you are trying to tell people is not easy, so I think Paul Goldstein has topped it. In this photograph, a family of a cheetahs, a mother and her six 9 weeks old cubs are in balanites tree. They were climbing up the balanites tree, the mother was at the very top of the tree and her six cubs were flowing her, two of them are almost at the top, one is half way and the rest are at the start. I have never seen a scene like this before, I love that the pose for each one is diverse and the way they are protecting the tree as a family from any outsiders.

Stephane Vetter (Heavenly Light Show)

Stephane Vetter put up a beautiful photograph named ‘Heavenly Light Show ′ that I thought is worth noticing. I was impressed with the techniques that Stephane vetter used to take the shot, he actually took a series of eight long exposures shots and then merged them to reproduce the magical landscape scene. It is about an aurora, which is something we do not see everyday, it is truly a natural electrical phenomenon. I loved the reddish or greenish light in the sky and I think from my experience as a photographer and a designer it is a good idea that Stephan Vetter took multiple shots to give it more definition. I found it to be a particularly strong composition that imparted a relaxing sensation.

Ilkka Räsänen (Tern Style)

Tern Style is a photograph taken by Ilkka Räsänen, the beauty of the photograph lays beyond aesthetic. However, if I would recall or rename the image then it would be ‘Seizing the Moment’, because I think it would tell more about the image itself. It is an image of a tern on the shores of Lake Saimaa in Finland. What fascinates me the most is the way terns fly and the way they use their magnificent aerial manoeuvrability to pull bits from the surface of water and to make shallow plunge dives after flying over their target. This snap draws the viewer into that moment as an excellent balance point in time.

Martin Cooper (On The Tracks of a Coyote)

And there is Martin Cooper, he had two works, but the one that captured my attention for quite some time is named ‘On the Tracks of a Coyote’, and it got me interested and thinking what is the story behind the coyote which appeared from no where in a local area where humans reside. So, as I was reading the story behind this shot, I found that Cooper use a zoom lens to take the shot, because coyotes tend to stay away from human beings, so it is hard to find a coyote near humans. However, Martin managed to take a remarkable shot with out disturbing.

Overall, I was very impressed by most of the spectacular photographic work that has been put forward by the Australian Museum with the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 exhibition. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition has inspired me with ideas of photographs that I might attempt to do in the near future, it is truly one of the best exhibitions I have ever been to in my live.  I would recommend this to all friends whom are interested in doing photography and also for people who are not doing photography. If you had the chance to visit the Australian Museum, I assure that you will not be disappointed. I am really looking forward to see what they come up with next year.


For more information about the exhibition visit this website: -

Wild Life Photographer of The Year Exhibition