Round Eight Wildlife
ithout a doubt, wildlife is one of the most popular and most tricky to judge categories in APOY every year. The sheer breadth of subject matter, style and skill on the part of the photographers entering makes it a wonderfully difficult genre to whittle down. The important thing is for the judges to be able to give equal time and attention both to the more physically impressive, majestic animals and the less ‘obvious’, more everyday or subtle creatures. The grandeur of a tiger photographed on safari can sometimes overwhelm a simple brown rabbit, and it’s our job to ensure one doesn’t drown out the other. Attention also needs to be paid to how creatively something has been photographed. Does a straight animal ‘portrait’ say everything you want to say about the subject, or could it be treated more creatively, or shot in different light? Many of our entries passed the creativity test with flying colours, and the sheer range of entries is well reflected in our top ten.
