Wildlife photographers spend countless hours attempting to capture the perfect moment when animals showcase their grace, strength, and beauty. It is irrelevant just how hot, cold, or even dangerous the elements are if you can seize that split second of photography magic. Not every image captured by the lens is perfect. In fact, animals are not only unpredictable, they can also be quirky and goofy. This is what Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is looking for from contestants. This is the third year the organization is holding the contest. To encourage other photographers to submit their fun and comical photos, they have released some of the entries they have received thus far.Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards was founded by photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam.
Joynson-Hicks and Sullam wanted to highlight the humour of wildlife photography.
The duo also wants to put the spotlight on wildlife conservation.
In 2016, there were approximately 2,200 photos submitted.
Photographers from over 75 countries participated.
The organizers hope this year will bring forth more entries.
“Conservation was always at the heart of the competition, along with the fact that people seemed to enjoy images of animals doing entertaining things,” Sullam says.
Sullam moved from the United Kingdom to Tanzania where he has seen firsthand the impact humans are making.
“Essentially living in a country that has some of the best wildlife in the world – Tanzania – and seeing how destructive human actions can be on this wildlife, made us want to do our little bit to help,” he admits.
“Raising awareness through photography, getting people involved and using humour as a positive reinforcement of the good things, rather than focusing on the negative imagery that has historically been used – which does have its place in the fight to raise awareness,” Sullam hopes.
Sullam is the chair of judges and the competition director. He is the winner of the highly regarded Fuji Photographer of the Year award, in addition with the One Vision prize.
Joynson-Hicks organized the competition initially, also lives in Tanzania.
Ironically, Joynson-Hicks has never won a photography award but hopes to do it in his career sooner rather than later.
This year there are six categories contestants can win from; The Creatures of the Land Category, the Kenya Airways Creatures in the Air Category, the One Vision Imaging Junior Category, the Amazing Internet Portfolio Category, the Underwater Category, and the Alex Walker Serian’s Video Clip Category.
