International Conservation Photography Awards 2012.

In my continuing search for good examples of conservation photography I've come across a very strong collection in the International Conservation Photography Awards. Yes like you I'm sure i'd never heard of them either but what I found is some real inspiration work that prove that time and effort can really pay of in this field. On there site (icpawards.com) you can find past winners from 2010-2012, split into categories ranging from Landscapes to Community at Risk with everything in between covered its given any willing photographer the chance to really highlight a particular area they feel needs some add attention and the end results I think are outstanding. Below I'm going to give you a small taste of the some of the winners but have a look at the site yourself highlighted above and I'll promise you you will not be disappointed.

Coyote Curled at Sunset

By Timothy Brooks.

I'll give him one thing not so sure I'd feel comfortable getting that up close and personal with a wild Coyote but I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to actually get the shot because you can very clearly see he's well aware of the presents of the photographer. To me the image says something about the hard life of the Coyote in whats clearly a harsh environment but I like the very threatening eye contact because it also shows it isn't a defenseless cute animal that you should feel sorry for.

  

Eye to Eye

By Carol Freeman.

Being a great fan of Macro images I can understand the skill involved in capturing this kind of spur of the moment image, combining a large amount of water droplets with a close up of strikingly blue insect which is then reflected in the droplets against a green background give the image that unique feel but at the same time making the subject jump out of the frame.

When Winter Is A Poet

By Fortunato Gatto.

Think this is possibly my favorite just for the fact it feels so alive and I can almost hear the surf crashing onto the beach. Its a strange one as well because although it should in theory feel like a very cold image because of the subject and the presents of ice to me the warm colours of the sky and beach counter this in stead resulting in it feeling quiet warm and more appealing if anything.

Crashed Tanker

By Justin Gilligan.

This photo is something that is more called to mind when I think of the kind of work I associate with the idea of conservation photography, showing a react tanker on the coast of Christmas Island, Australia it calls to mind all the worst possible images you can imagine of the impacted on the local environment that these can of accidents can have. Again like with the previous image I can almost hear the twisting of metal from the action of the seas crashing onto the ship.

 

Family

By Douglas H Orton.

One of the great mysteries to me is how people can hunt these great and beautiful creature which have been shown to have such great intelligence but to many people they are something we never see regularly in life so do not feel the need to be concerned for there well being. This is where these kind of images come in, just see the size and scale of the animal is enough for me to be truly impressed but to be able to swim with them and get as close as this photographer did must have been a brilliant moment but then to feel the need to share it with others is possibly the best thing about it.

  

Shoal Of Life

By Cristobal Serrona

Love the use of the light and the way the bird is so perfectly silhouetted against this area as he enter the shoal of fish. There also a good use of the rhythm and patterns created by the fish giving the image real strength but unlike the last two photos long exposures haven't been used but somehow the photographer has managed to give the shot loads of life.

Unfolding Fern

By Andre Szekely

Macro highlighting the beauty of the natural world always gains plus point in my book and this is no exception showing the structure and complexity of something that we would otherwise take very much for granted.

 When I look at these images together the one thing that straight away jumps out at me is the use of very strong colours, from previous reading I'm aware of how colour used in the right way can get an emotion response from the view, now whether this is what the photographers intend in the most part I'm not entirely convinced. All of the photos here are beautiful examples of conservation imagery but what I do feel is that as individual photos none are powerful enough to promote change in a particular view, yes they could influence a person but lead to change I wouldn't have thought so. For me as I'm going to do in my own work you need a series of photos on one subject so you can give someone the whole picture and hopefully all the facts to help them make informed chose's.

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