Bird fans and professional photographers gathered to the African Bird Fair in Johannesburg (and online) just recently for the statement of the winners of the inaugural BirdLife South Africa Photography Competition, in collaboration with Canon South Africa.
An expert panel of judges had the difficult task of trimming the more than 3 000 images received to a shortlist of 200, and after that lastly to 8 remarkable images in various classifications.
In a serendipitous turn of occasions, the general winning image by Halima Beale revealed a sunset scene including the familiar shape of a blue crane, South Africa’s nationwide bird.
This was specifically fitting for BirdLife South Africa, the competitors organisers, which are entrusted with saving South Africa’s birds and their environments.
The competitors, which raises funds for the preservation work of BirdLife South Africa, has actually caught the creativity of South Africa’s birdwatching and photography neighborhood. More than 400 professional photographers got in the competitors, in assistance of the organisation’s work, however likewise in the hope of winning among the rewards amounting to almost half a million rand in 10 classifications.
The primary classifications were: action; picture; birds in the environment; and garden, with secondary classifications granting the very best images of threatened and endemic types, an award for the very best youth entry (for a professional photographer under 18), and an individuals’s option reward.
There was substantial interest in the shortlisted images for individuals’s option classification, with more than 4 000 members of the general public taking part in ballot.
Adam Buckham’s Cape Sugarbird
The quality and range of images gotten in were impressive. Roger Machin, item marketing supervisor for Canon South Africa and senior judge for the competitors said: “We were really impressed by the efforts people went to, to get such amazing pictures of our country’s birds. Canon South Africa was very happy to be part of this competition, most notably with the big prize in the youth category. We really want to see the next generation of birders and bird photographers showing their stuff. Our judging team had a really hard time choosing the winners, with a few late night debates, but I’m sure you’ll agree that we have some great shots for BirdLife South Africa’s first photography competition.”
The general winner, which likewise won the birds in the environment classification, was a photo of a Cape wetland simply after sundown, with a single silhouetted blue crane shown in the intense orange water. The skilled professional photographer, Halima Beale from Somerset West, left with the grand reward of a three-night, extensive stay for 2 individuals at the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve worth R240 000, in addition to access to more than R1 million worth of Canon cam equipment to utilize on loan while at Tswalu.
The reward consists of supper at the Klein Jan restaurant with Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, a personal guide and tracker throughout of the stay, in addition to botanical and pangolin strolls with the resident professionals.
Beale was overjoyed upon hearing that she was the general winner.
“We were heading out to Wits and for our family getaway with the kids and grandkids. The sun was already setting when we drove past this piece of water with blue cranes and the most magnificent sunset. But, it was already dark and we were late so we drove past. Then my husband said to me, ‘No, let’s go back. This is too beautiful. You have to take this picture.’ So we did, and I jumped out in the dark with my camera and took a series of pictures, and here we are.”
Adam Buckham, the winner of the youth classification, was simply as delighted.
“Living in Cape Town, I have taken hundreds of pictures of Cape sugarbirds. However, on a particular day with a pumping southeaster, my dad and I decided to visit Tafelberg Road. After finding a group of sugarbirds feeding on a protea, we decided to try to get a winning shot. In this particular picture, I love how the wind has caused the tail to flap to the side of the bird’s body, creating a unique pose of an amazing bird. I have also grown to love soft lighting, and so the overcast day provided an excellent opportunity.”
Adam took home a Canon EOS R7 cam with RF-S 18-45mm, RF 100-400mm and RF 600mm f11 lenses, valued at R50 000.
Johannes van der Merwe’s male pennant-winged nightjar
The other primary classification winners consisted of an incredible image of a male pennant-winged nightjar showing (Johannes van der Merwe, in the action classification), a small female swee waxbill set down delicately on a hanging branch (Dionne Miles, in the picture classification), and a female white-bellied sunbird hovering in location while consuming nectar from a Chinese hatplant (Holmskioldia sanguinea) (Philip van den Berg, in the garden classification).
The secondary classifications included a Cape cormorant framed from above versus a crashing wave (Andrew Jenkins, in the threatened types classification), a male swee waxbill feeding on a yard stem (Mike Buckham, in the endemic types classification), and a male Cape sugarbird grasping a protea in a howling southeaster with its resplendent tail tracking horizontally behind it (Adam Buckham, in the youth classification). The individuals’s option winner was a shot of an uncommon black coucal in flight bring a hoping mantis (Roger Hogg).
The statement of the winners was the conclusion of months of effort from BirdLife South Africa and Canon South Africa, who partnered to launch this first-of-its-kind competitors.
Roger Hogg’s unusual black coucal in flight bring a hoping mantis
Mark D Anderson, president of BirdLife South Africa, explained the significance and goals of the competitors: “Our annual photography competition provides us with an opportunity to showcase South Africa’s 870-plus magnificent bird species, through images captured across the length and breadth of our beautiful country, whether that’s in a famous national park or in a local garden. It is also a platform for our organisation to raise much-needed awareness of and funds for our conservation efforts, and we are extremely grateful to the many photographers who entered their images, and, in so doing, contributed towards our work.”
BirdLife South Africa wants to thank the numerous sponsors of the photography competitors, consisting of Canon South Africa; Tswalu Kalahari Reserve; Tintswalo at Boulders; The Royal Portfolio; The Oyster Box; RETURNAfrica; Struik Nature; Gardena; Elaine’s Birding and Wildlife Products; Birding Africa; and Cape Town Pelagics. BirdLife South Africa would likewise like to thank and acknowledge the 5 expert judges for their contributions, Roger Machin, Richard Flack, Lizet Grobbelaar, Prelena Owen, and Sandiswa Kula.
You can see all the winning images at: https://www.birdlife.org.za/photography-competition-2023.
BirdLife South Africa is the nation partner of BirdLife International, an international collaboration of preservation organisations that aims to save birds, their environments and international biodiversity, by dealing with individuals towards sustainability in making use of natural deposits. BirdLife International partners run in more than 120 nations worldwide. BirdLife South Africa counts on donor financing and financial backing from the general public to perform its important preservation work
