Screenshot of 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year gallery. (10/20/22)
By Frank Gallagher, NANPA Marketing, Communications & Blog Coordinator
And the winner is …
One of the best sources of photography inspiration and ideas is perusing the winning images from a variety of photography competitions. I know that spending time with gorgeous, interesting, informative and innovative photos of the natural world certainly helps to get me out of any ruts I might be in and helps get me outside with my camera. While we wait for the winners of NANPA’s Showcase nature photography competition to be announced (plenty of inspiration coming there!), a number of other competitions have announced finalists or winners.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition announced the 2022 winners and posted a gallery of exceptional photos. A number of NANPA members have won or placed highly in this prestigious competition.
If the weight of the world’s problems is getting you down, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards announced their 2022 finalists. There’s something in this collection to bring a smile to the face of even the most hardened, cynical nature photographer. My personal favorite is the pair of vultures doing the can-can. And. Yes, there’s a serious conservation intent behind the awards.
Beyond exceptional, or exceptionally amusing, wildlife images, photography competitions can shine the light on causes and bring added attention to preserving and protecting the natural wonders of our world. That’s one reason why NANPA added a category honoring conservation photography to its annual Showcase photo competition.
And that’s why the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year added a special Rewilding Europe award to its competition. According to the Rewilding Institute, rewilding “is comprehensive, often large-scale, conservation effort focused on restoring sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem health by protecting core wild/wilderness areas, providing connectivity between such areas, and protecting or reintroducing apex predators and highly interactive species (keystone species).” The award will draw attention and public awareness to rewilding projects across the continent.
There are countless photography award programs, from your local camera club’s competition night to the Natural History Museum Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards in London. Whether funny or serious, large or small, they serve several purposes beyond the recognition and prestige bestowed on the winning photographers. The winning images will be seen by many others and can inspire people to take better care of the environment, get involved in a conservation cause, get outdoors to experience nature, or just take better photos.
If you’re a NANPA member and one of your photos has been honored in a photography competition, let us know and we’ll share the news. Oh, and congratulations!
Frank Gallagher is a landscape and nature photographer based in the Washington, DC, area who specializes in providing a wide range of photograph services to nonprofit organizations. He serves as NANPA’s Interim Marketing and Communications Coordinator and manages NANPA’s blog. He can be found online at frankgallagherphotography.com or on Instagram @frankgallagherfoto.
