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| 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 | |
| With more than 6,000 incredible images fighting for the judges’ attention, 2005's International Wildbird Photographer competition set new benchmarks for artistic vision, incredible action and sheer technical quality. Television star Bill Oddie summed it up by saying: “This year it has been a complete pleasure to see such an array of remarkable work. It is hard to see how anyone can better the standards we’ve seen today.” David Cromack said: “The International Wildbird Photographer competition is one all the leading players want to win and the number of entries was three times bigger than last year. It was very pleasing to receive entries from 32 countries this time around.“ Howard Utting, of chief sponsor Warehouse Express, deserves a huge amount of praise for keeping faith with the concept of this competition in its early days. "I’d also like to thank all the supporting optical and photographic sponsors for contributing to a very attractive prize package.” For the third year in a row the overall title and £1,500 cheque went to an overseas photographer. Hungarian teenager Bence Máté, who was also a prizewinner in the BBC Wildlife competition this year, pipped Andy Rouse (King Penguins on the beach) and Roy Rimmer (Meadow Pipit and Cuckoo) to the top prize, with his immaculately-framed close-up of a Bullfinch, drinking on a frozen pool. The entry reflected the relentless march of digital technology, with less than 20% of the total being transparencies and only one of these able to do better than wrest a runners-up category prize. There are no plans to abandon the older medium, but it is interesting to speculate how many wildlife photographers will be able to resist making the change in the next 12 months. CATAGORIES : Overall Winner - Garden Birds | Birds in Britain | Birds of the World | Best Portfolio | Creative Digital | Digiscoping | Patterns and Composition | Bird Portrait | Best Amateur | Birds in Action JUDGES : Chairman - Bill Oddie (TV presenter), Chris Packham (TV presenter and photographer), David Cottridge (Bird Watching photographic consultant), Tom Bailey (Freelance photographer), David Cromack (Editor of Bird Watching and Birds Illustrated magazines), Robert Gillmor (vice-president, Society of Wildlife Artists), Keith Offord (Bird photographer and tour leader) ADMINISTRATOR : Sue Begg |
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| Overall Winner Category : GARDEN BIRDS Winner : Bence Máté, Hungary (Bullfinch drinking at frozen pool - see below) Canon EOS 300D camera, Nikon 300mm f/2.8 lens with TC-301 teleconverter and Nikon-to-EOS lens mount converter Twenty-year-old Bence won The Eric Hosking Award for young photographers earlier this year. He has built four drinking troughs for birds and has recorded 49 species visiting them in the last four years. Around 30 of these occur regularly and give him endless photographic opportunities. “On a busy day, as many as 600 birds from 20 species might show up,” he says. “The Bullfinches can usually be seen from November to March, though this colourful shot was taken in April.” In a photo finish to decide the International Wildbird Photographer title, the judging panel were eventually won over by the composition of this picture, which incorporates the bird’s reflection to create maximum impact. More of his work can be seen on his website: www.matebence.hu Runner-Up : Simon Rowlands, UK (House Sparrow) ^ back to top  |
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 Category : BIRDS OF BRITAIN Winner : Geoff Simpson, UK (Red Grouse on gritstone edge - see below) Hasselblad XPan II, Fuji Provia 100f film, f/11 at 1/30 second, Gitzo tripod This cock bird was proclaiming its territory at Stanage Edge in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire. “I was photographing another Red Grouse close by when I noticed that the male bird would periodically announce its presence with its distinctive ‘go-back-go-back-go-back’ call,” says Geoff. “I was within 2m of the bird, and used a wide-angle lens and a cable release. I was able to capture the expanse of heather moorland and the Peak District’s longest gritstone edge. It is a typical Red Grouse habitat, so it was nice to have the bird adorning a very pleasing landscape in its own right.” Geoff’s images can be bought via his website: www.geoffsimpsonphotography.com Runner-Up : Chris Knights (Wren - see right) ^ back to top  |
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 Category : BIRDS OF THE WORLD Winner : Andy Rouse, UK (King Penguins on the beach - see below) Canon EOS 1Ds MKII, 300mm f/2.8L IS lens, 1/60 second at f/4 Penguins are a family of birds that have been well photographed in recent years, but the judges liked the fact that Andy had created something fresh with this image. They were so impressed, that it made the final three in the race for the overall International Wildbird Photographer title. Andy followed the group of King Penguins for several hours as they walked along the beach. “They constantly changed their minds about entering the stormy seas,” he says, “I love the atmosphere of this image and the uncertainty of the small chap. With such raging seas, there is no way that you’d have got me in there either!” Runner-Up : Gabriela Staebler, Germany (Roller and Zebra - see right) ^ back to top  |
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| Category : BEST PORTFOLIO Winner : Jari Peltomaki, Finland (Fighting birds – Moorhens, Ravens and White-Tailed Eagles) The shot of fighting Ravens came after two days and nights in a hide, set up for photographing Golden Eagles in Korouoma, Finland, last March. Jari says:“During the nights we had spectacular Aurora Borealis, but the temperature was -30˚c, even in daytime. The Ravens always came to the site in the morning, before the eagles arrived. They are really funny birds to watch, and they often had fights like this.” (Canon EOS 1D Mark II + 100-400mm lens)  |
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bait in front of heated hides is a well- established tradition for Finnish photographers. Carcasses of animals killed by vehicles proved very attractive to eagles at this site in southern Finland. “I spent one weekend in the hide in and the eagles were unbelievable!” says Jari.“We
had more than ten White-tailed Eagles and two Golden Eagles, so there was always plenty going on. Here, young and adult birds are in dispute about who will feed on the bait next!”(Canon EOS 1D Mark II + 500mm f/4 IS USM with 1.4x teleconverter) |
 Jari
saw a big fight taking place as he was walking through St James’s Park in London in January 2005. “The birds were really aggressive and they were jumping high in the air,” he says. “The light wasn’t great, so I used ISO 500, but I still had to underexpose in order to capture the quick movements.”(Canon EOS 1D Mark II + 300mm f/2.8 IS USM) Runner-Up : Mark Bartosik, Poland (Least Bitterns) ^ back to top |
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: CREATIVE DIGITAL Winner : Robert Frederick, UK (Magpie at Warp Factor Ten - see right) Nikon D70 + 70-300mm Nikon ED lens Robert has been an international photographic judge himself, and has taken up photography again with the advent of digital cameras. “The original image was taken out of our lounge window,” he says. “The Magpie was diving from a tree that grows through our feeding hedge, in search of the peanuts that we mix with our songbird scatter.” The original image was modified using Photoshop CS, using effects such as Poster Edges and Radial Blur to create the impression of the bird in a state of excessive movement. ^ back to top |
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: DIGISCOPING Winner : Harri Taavetti, Finland (Great Grey Owl and Chick - see right) Nikon Coolpix 4500 and Zeiss Diascope 85 T* FL with 30x WA eyepiece and Finnature adapter Harri leads tours for Finnature and was a runner-up in this category in 2003. He says that summer 2005 was rather good for owls in Finland, including this Great Grey Owl, near Oulu, on the west coast. Harri was delighted to see at least three small young in the old Buzzard nest and decided to try digiscoping the scene. “The young ones were quite active, stretching their wings, moving around and yawning,” he says. “The picture made me laugh, because it looks like the chick is screaming his heart out like a baby, and its mother looks somehow desperate. The action and humour make it something different from the many digiscoping shots that are just portraits, and the vertical format is rare in digiscoped images.”  Runner-Up : Arto Juvonen, Finland (Pygmy Owl - see left) ^ back to top |
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 Category : PATTERNS AND COMPOSITION Winner : Jari Peltomaki, Finland (Black-Throated Diver - see right) Canon EOS1D Mark II + 500mm f/4 lens with 2x teleconverter  Jari was delighted to see divers at close range from a hide at Vaala, Finland, in June and thanks Eero Kemilä for helping to get this picture. “I love bird photography, because birds are beautiful, especially when you can see the smallest details of their feathers,” says Jari. “I noticed the beautiful pattern on the side of this bird’s neck and put the 2x converter onto my 500 mm lens to fill the frame.” Runner-Up : Miguel Lasa, UK (Arctic Tern - see left) ^ back to top |
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 Category : BIRD PORTRAIT Winner : Mark Bartosik, USA (Sanderling - see below) Canon EOS 20D camera, 500mm f4L IS +1.4x teleconverter Mark moved to the United States from Poland, and is delighted that a portrait of a common species could win a big international competition. “It’s proof that one does not need to pay a lot of money for a safari trip to take a winning photograph,” he says. “I love shore birds and often try to catch something interesting on the Galveston beaches in Texas. “One should always get to the birds’ level, to see life from their perspective. This bird was so excited to find food in the sand that it ignored my presence entirely. I knew I had something special from the bird’s face. It shows an almost personal expression of its character.” Runner-Up : Hermann Breham, Germany (Red and Yellow Barbet - see right) ^ back to top  |
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 Category : BEST AMATEUR Winner : Ray Haywood, UK (Coot and Chick - see right) Canon EOS 10D camera and 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM lens Ray is taking a break from his career as a civil engineer to pursue other interests, including photography. The photograph of the Coot’s nest on the Thames was taken from the public walkway over the weir between Hambleden Mill and the lock, in August 2004. “It was quite difficult to find a sight line as the adjacent reeds obscured much of the nest,” says Ray. “I think that this actually enhances the image, as the close vegetation contributes to a feeling of seclusion for the birds. The vivid red and blue colours of the youngster’s head also contrasts well against the severe black/white of the adult.” Runner-Up : John Engstrom, Sweden (Kingfisher - see below)  ^ back to top |
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: BIRDS IN ACTION Winner : Roy Rimmer, UK (Meadow Pipit and Cuckoo - see below) Canon EOS 1Ds MKII, 400mm lens and 1.4x Roy says that entering competitions with the Wigan 10 Photographic Club has really sharpened up his photography. This startling image of a Cuckoo being assailed by a Meadow Pipit certainly impressed the panel, reaching the final three in the last round of judging. “I was driving around Uist in May when I noticed the Cuckoo being mobbed by some Meadow Pipits on overhead cables,” says Roy. “I returned the following afternoon, when the light was better, and used my car as a hide, with netting over the window. The light got worse and it seemed like ages before the Cuckoo landed on the post in a perfect pose. A Meadow Pipit appeared from nowhere and the action all happened in seconds. I only managed a couple of frames before the cuckoo flew off.” Runner-Up : David Cantrille, UK (Fighting Godwits - see right) ^ back to top  |
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