British Deer

The British Deer Society run an annual photo competition in four parts. We've already missed the first deadline, but three remain, and there are prizes for each stage.

The categories are 'deer', 'deer country' and 'stalking connections.' "The judges will be looking for imaginative pictures which are well executed, composed, exposed & focussed. Deer doing something or illustrating a particular activity will be more eye catching than a straight forward portrait – provided the above qualities of production are complied with. Deer Country & Stalking Connnections should also be imaginative and illustrative and technically well produced. Deer do not necessarilly have to feature in either of these categories although it would be preferred if there was some evidence of, or relating to, deer in ‘Deer Country’ pictures."

For non-BDS members the competition costs £5 per quarter, the three remaining entry dates are 1st May, 10th August & 10th October 2007.

Neil McIntyre is a previous winner of the overall competition, and we've been lucky enough to spend some time with him in Scotland a couple of years ago, where we had some excellent opportunities with red squirrels, crested tits, greater spotted woodpeckers, and of course, deer. There is an interesting interview with him on the BDS website (link below.)

Our two favourite places for red deer are the Scottish Highlands, particularly around Melgarve and the Findhorn Valley, and Richmond Park, in London. (Richmond Park has Fallow deer too.)

There are many other good areas for deer photography - take a look at your local wildlife trust website (the BBC has good regional information too). One popular area is Ashridge forest near Berkhamstead.

• British Deer Society competition
• Neil McIntyre interview
• Neil McIntyre website
• Ashridge forest information
• UK Deer information
  

Above photo 'Deer and Photographer' taken in Richmond Park (c) Matt Jones

Wired for Wildlife

Kim Wolhuter is a wildlife photographer, National Geographic cameraman and independent filmmaker based in Southern Africa. He is the most web-savvy wildlife person I've ever seen, and posts daily updates in many different ways: blogging, flickr, youtube.

At the moment he is documenting the making of his new films on a daily basis, posting stills and video clips galore. The process is fascinating and the photography is amazing, not to mention the spectacular African scenery.

• His blog - www.wildcast.net
  
• Flickr photostream
• Interview
• YouTube channel
• Website - www.kimwolhuter.com
  

Brian Phipps

Brian Phipps is a successful UK nature photographer based in the West Country. I first noticed his owl photography in AP last year - the article was very interesting and had a wealth of tips for the prospective owl photographer. Since then I've also seen other articles showing off his excellent portfolio of deer photos. His library is very extensive, and on his website you can see a broad range of excellent images of the wildlife and landscapes of Great Britain. And if - like me - you've never seen a 24-hour old badger, have a look in the news section of his site! That is a beautiful creature.

www.brianphipps.net


Image (c) Brian Phipps

Congratulations to Jørgen Flemming

Danish photographer Jørgen Flemming has won a prize in the World Press Photography competition 2007, with this superb shot of buzzards fighting over a hare. It won 3rd prize in the Nature section - you can see the rest here.

We're Back / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007

We're back, in a manner of speaking, and an email landed in our inbox today inviting us to enter the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2007. If we do enter, I doubt we'll trouble the scorers, but one thing is for sure: if you don't enter, the odds are stacked against you.

Advice from Mark Carwardine: "Imagine you are a judge looking at thousands and thousands of photographs. Many are technically flawless - well exposed, perfectly sharp and pleasantly composed. After a while you take these key ingredients for granted. You become desperate for something really creative, fresh and surprising to leap out from the screen. The pictures that do leap out are the ones that win. So just repeat the mantra 'originality, originality, originality' first thing every morning and last thing at night and you'll be on the road to success."

Closing date is 23rd March - full details here.

The stunning snowy owl photo is from Vincent Munier - it's one of three brilliant shots that he got in the 2006 competition. He has a book out called White Nature - you can find more details at his web site.

Bee-Eater Bonanza

Excellent photo of the day at photo.net - Vezon Thierry's gallery contains many more equally good shots. I would have shown a larger image but the next size up is massive - it's well worth a look though, click here.

Vezon Theirry's full gallery of bee-eaters