Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022

[Maximilian]

Yesterday the Natural History Museum, London, announced the "Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022".

Grand title winner: Karine Aigner, USA

The big buzz | Wildlife Photographer of the Year | Natural History Museum

Karine Aigner (USA) gets close to the action as a group of bees compete to mate.

www.nhm.ac.uk

Equipment:
Sony α7R III, Laowa 24mm f14 2x macro probe lens, 1/1000 sec, ISO 6400, Profoto strobe + wireless trigger

Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Grand title winner: Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn, Thailand

The beauty of baleen | Wildlife Photographer of the Year | Natural History Museum

Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn (Thailand) is intrigued by the contrasting colours and textures of a Bryde's whale, surfacing close by.

www.nhm.ac.uk

Equipment:
Canon EOS 90D, Sigma 150–600mm f5–6.3 lens, 1/6400, f6.3 (-1 e/v), ISO 640

Explore the gallery. Once again, a lot of great pictures there, no matter what gear was used.

Gallery | Wildlife Photographer of the Year | Natural History Museum

Browse the WPY winning images in our immersive gallery. Use the filter tab to customise your search

www.nhm.ac.uk

 

[Click]

Thank you for sharing.

Great pictures. Congrats to the winners.

 

[MrFotoFool]

I have been following this for years and seen the London exhibition in person two years. I have the book of 100 winning images for last 19 years and plan on getting this one. Every one is stellar except last year (2021). There are different judges each year and last year's judges had different tastes than I do. (Not to say there are not some great images in there, but there are a couple of real head scratchers). Thankfully this year seems to be back up to their usual high standards and I look forward to ordering the commemorative book.

 

[Maximilian]

I have been following this for years and seen the London exhibition in person two years. I have the book of 100 winning images for last 19 years and plan on getting this one. ...

Wow! That's a long-lasting record. I hope you'll enjoy this years images as much as I did.

 

[MrFotoFool]

Wow! That's a long-lasting record. I hope you'll enjoy this years images as much as I did.

Yes I took a quick look, though I am waiting for the book to look at them in detail. I noticed you posted a thread for last year's competition as well. Were you also disappointed with some of last year's choices like I was? (Specifically the grossly out-of-focus guanacos and the bird out-of-frame with only feet showing).

 

[Maximilian]

Yes I took a quick look, though I am waiting for the book to look at them in detail. I noticed you posted a thread for last year's competition as well. Were you also disappointed with some of last year's choices like I was? (Specifically the grossly out-of-focus guanacos and the bird out-of-frame with only feet showing).

I think, I ran across that competition somewhere in 2013. And I posted it here since 2016.

2021 was a little bit special, indeed. But there also were some fantastic photos.
My personal favourite was this picture (no title, highly recommended):

Stardust | Wildlife Photographer of the Year | Natural History Museum

A black jacobin hovers in front of the morning sun and as the light penetrates its wings the feathers become ‘filled with rainbows’. Christian used the high clouds as a secondary filter to reveal this prism effect, otherwise invisible to the naked eye.

www.nhm.ac.uk

Esp. when you look at the gear used
Rebel T6i, 18–135mm, tripod

 

[MrFotoFool]

@Maximilian "2021 was a little bit special..."
That's a careful way to word the odd choices!

As for equipment used, I won't say what gear I currently use but my two DSLR's start with N and my mirrorless starts with S. (I was a long time Canon user when I joined this site). I would like to lighten and consolidate my load and the Canon 100-500 looks like a viable alternative to my (brand I will not name) 200-600 that is a bit big and heavy. I tried a Canon R5 a couple times and hated (I mean really hated) the viewfinder, but if the rumored R5mkII has the improved 9+ million dot EVF and optical simulator mode, it could be the thing that brings me back. Sorry to digress from topic...

 

[Maximilian]

As for equipment used, I won't say what gear I currently use but my two DSLR's start with N and my mirrorless starts with S. …

You surely know what „dark side“ I‘ve been before

Only S products I won‘t buy anymore. Too much many bad experiences with Walkmen and TVs and their support

 

[AlanF]

You surely know what „dark side“ I‘ve been before

Only S products I won‘t buy anymore. Too much bad experiences with Walkmen and TVs and their support

I never got a decent shot from those Sonys either. On the other hand, their RX10 IV never lets me down.

 

[SteveC]

You surely know what „dark side“ I‘ve been before

Only S products I won‘t buy anymore. Too much many bad experiences with Walkmen and TVs and their support

Yep. Whoever it was who was in charge of the user experience back when I got tired of their crap, needed horsewhipping, too. A walkman-type CD player that resets itself to MAXIMUM VOLUME (and blows your ears out if you're using headphones) ever time it shuts off...bad decision. Units that when you power them on go to standby are also infuriating (If I am powering a unit on, I probably want to use it right now, idiots!) And now I hear nothing but gripes about their camera ergonomics and menu system, so it sounds like the horsewhip might still be needed.