Shadow Walker - Richard Peters from Great Britain comes out European Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The overall winner of the competition "GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015" is British photographer Richard Peters with his image "Shadow Walker".

“The image shows the shadow of an urban fox on its nightly patrols. To give context to the image, I placed the camera up high enough to show the neighbouring house, and using a 30-second exposure setting, I also captured the stars in the night sky. I did not plan to include the upstairs light in the neighbour’s house, but it helps connect the human and wild elements of the image, giving context to the story. The camera was triggered by a light barrier when the fox walked by.”

Richard Peters is an autodidact, who taught himself the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and film speeds. He also played with depth of field and came to appreciate the creative possibilities it offered. In doing so, light came to play an increasingly important role, often taking priority over subject matter. Over the course of years, Richard experimented with a lot of different subjects, but wildlife continued to capture his imagination most.

His work has gone on to be widely published as well as being awarded in multiple international competitions. Recently, in an effort to step out of his comfort zone and experiment with different techniques, Richard has begun exploring the use of flash and camera traps by embarking on a long term project to document the wildlife that visits his back garden at night. A project that his winning photo Shadow Walker stems from.

Patron Prof. Dr. Beate Jessel of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation: “This fox stands for many more European animal species that are conquering new habitats in our constantly growing cities. Increasingly, foxes, wild boars and others are finding better living conditions in urban settlements than in the desert-like agricultural landscapes of the surrounding areas. Nowhere else are so many diverse habitats available for wild animals as in towns and cities. And for this reason, there is a surprisingly high diversity of species compared to the surrounding countryside. But cities are also a habitat for people and, because of this, it is important to increase our focus on linking urban nature conservation with city development and planning. Urbanisation does not work for every species; some depend on unspoiled spaces or well structured landscapes. Protection and development of true wilderness and a diverse cultural landscape will, therefore, continue to be important goals for nature conservation.”

The competition “GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year” is run annually by the Society of German Nature Photographers (GDT). With almost 17 300 submissions from 36 European countries, this year's competition can report a new record regarding the number of participants, emphasizing the competition's great reputation. Once again, the award-winning photographs show the exceptional quality of European wildlife photography.

Photographs can be entered in eight different categories as well as the Fritz Pölking Prize and Fritz Pölking Junior Prize. The top-class jury consisting of Orsolya Haarberg (NO), Keith Wilson (GB), Gunther Riehle (DE), Klaus Tamm (DE) and Michael Lohmann (DE) did not take their decisions easily.

Keith Wilson for the jury: „Now, looking back on the winning images that were decided on that Sunday in May, I feel the same degree of confidence, pride and excitement about the finalists in each of the categories. To reach the final stage of judging from more than 17 000 images is an incredible achievement, especially when you consider the overall high standard. Aesthetics and technical expertise were in abundance, but what I remember more are the imaginative and innovative interpretations of the natural world that have become the signature of this exciting competition.
The late great W. Eugene Smith may not have been a nature photographer, but his photographs reveal an awful lot about human nature. He once said: “What use is having a great depth of field if there is not an adequate depth of feeling?”
I think these words – depth of feeling – apply to many of the images that define this competition: it is there to be witnessed and felt, thereby provoking the viewer to share their own response with others.

In my humble opinion, the "GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year" is the most influential of the world’s great wildlife photography competitions. Others may attract more entries or be longer established, but when it comes to setting trends or championing particular styles, is there a more influential competition than this? Furthermore, the resulting exhibition from this year’s competition displays an astonishing array of photographic skill and stands as a remarkable testimony to the expertise of the photographers who created these works.
Talking about the winning image, Wilson says: “In Richard’s photograph the idea of the fox is made fact by the reality of its shadow. This moment, perfectly framed, recalls a verse from T. S. Eliot’s poem, The Hollow Men:

Between the idea
And the reality,
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the shadow.

Simply by reading Eliot’s words alongside Richard’s photograph, no further explanation is needed.”

This nomination wins Richard Peters the Canon-sponsored award with a prize money of 3000 Euro. . His image succeeded in a field of nearly 17,300 entries by photographers from 36 countries. The Society of German Nature Photographers (GDT) awarded this prize for the 15th time, which is open to professional and non-professional photographers from all over Europe.

The international special award Fritz Pölking Prize with a prize money of 2 000 Euro, which the GDT presents in cooperation with Tecklenborg publishing house, was awarded to Bruno D'Amicis for his story on the "Fennec, little ghost of the dunes", a gripping story on a charismatic animal from the deserts of northern Africa which was hardly ever photographed in the wild before.

The Fritz Pölking Junior award went to young Canadian Connor Stefanison. His portfolio "Mountain Goats" introduces us to the life of these graceful animals in their high-mountain habitat with intense portraits and photos of their behaviour.

Winners of the individual categories
The category "Birds" was won by Juan Carlos Muñoz from Spain with the image of a black winged stilt in the Hula Valley in Israel. The image of a wild boar at night by Bence Mate from Hungary convinced the jury in the category "Mammals". "Peace at the stream" is the name of the winning image by French photographer Quentin Martinez in the category "Other Animals". Radomir Jakubowski from Germany won the category "Plants & Fungi" with his image "Phantom of the night".
In the category "Landscapes" Esa Pekka Isomursu from Finland succeeded with "Snow-laden trees under a full moon, halos and northern lights" and the category "Under Water" was won by Edwin Giesbers from the Netherlands with "Dark future". "Landfill lightshow" called Jasper Doest, also from the Netherlands, his winning image of white storks and black kites on a rubbish dump in the category "Man and Nature". With "Sprint at the edge of the forest" Antje Kreienbrink from Germany succeeded in the category "Nature’s Studio".

Contact details of the overall winner
Richard Peters
richard@richardpeters.co.uk
www.richardpeters.co.uk

The GDT
There is a society or association for wildlife and nature photography in almost every European country. In Germany this has been the Society of German Nature Photographers (GDT – Gesellschaft Deutscher Tierfotografen e.V.) since 1971. With manifold activities, the non-profit association is the leading organisation of nature photographers in Europe. Photographic topics are diverse ranging from classic wildlife images and landscape, plant and macro photography to abstract forms of nature photography. The GDT promotes authentic, unmanipulated images and focuses equally on aspects of natural history as well as artistic values. In addition to members from Germany, Europe and overseas, numerous sponsors from the photographic industry including many well-known camera manufacturers, specialist suppliers in nature photography, publishers and agencies, support the goals and the work of the GDT by their sponsor membership.
In addition to the International Nature Photography Festival the GDT hosts an annual photo competition for their members as well as the open international competition GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Patron of the competition is Prof. Beate Jessel of the Federal Ministry for Nature Conservation. Information at www.gdtfoto.de

Karen Korte
Körnerstraße 4
24103 Kiel
Germany

phone: +49 (0)431-906 63 64
presse@gdtfoto.de

This release was published on openPR.