London animal photography competition

From Wildlife Extra:

London Zoo animal photography prize winners revealed

Zoological Society of London reveals winning entrants of ZSL Animal Photography Prize 2012

September 2012. Mysterious manatees emerging from the dark waters of a river in Florida and a striking shot of a gharial‘s head reflected in the water as it swims are some of the dramatic images judged by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to best depict the magic of the animal kingdom. The pictures are just some of the breathtaking images from the ZSL Animal Photography Prize 2012, which will be on display in a stunning exhibition at ZSL London Zoo.

The competition, the first of its kind run by the Zoological Society of London, launched in April in a bid to inspire amateur and professional photographers to get out and capture the wonders of the natural world.

Photographer Robert Heischman, who captured the winning shot of the reflective gharial in the adult’s Weird and Wonderful category said: “Photographing reflections effectively requires a bunch of factors to come together. You need intense light, still water, a low camera angle, and an interesting subject to make it work. I love gharials for how sharp and angular they are, so when I saw this individual holding his head at such a steep angle, I knew I had an interesting shot on my hands.

ZSL’s project manager for the exhibition Sarah Barron added: “These photographers have managed to capture some truly amazing shots which will challenge peoples’ perception of the animal kingdom.”

Other extraordinary images that will be on display at the Zoo include a curious gorilla getting behind the camera, a close up of an Amur leopard baring its teeth, and a Madagascan giant leaf-tailed gecko showing off its incredible camouflage skills.

Adult and junior photographers submitted entries for the competition’s seven categories including The Human Animal and Birds and the Bees, to be in with the chance of winning part of the £10,000 prize fund.

To find out more about the ZSL Animal Photography Prize and to book tickets to see the exhibition please visit www.zsl.org/photo-prize.