Wildlife in Black And White: Photo Contest Winners
Thank you to all the photographers that shared their best shot showing animals in the wild in black and white in this photo contest made possible by our friends at Blurb. Blurb's independent publishing platform gives you the ability to create, publish, sell, and distribute photo books, hardcovers or paperbacks, and magazines in print and digital formats. We're here to simplify self-publishing for everyone.
A special thanks to friend and professional photographer Dan Carr for his collaboration as a guest judge. Dan is a senior photographer for the Canadian ski magazine Skier and his work has also been featured in ski and snowboard magazines from Japan to Canada and everywhere in between as well as innumerable commercial campaigns for an ever widening list of clients which includes top ski resorts such as Whistler Blackcomb, and outdoor sports companies such as Salomon and Oakley.
"This photo stopped me in my tracks when I saw it. The elephant is perfect positioned against the higher area of the sky which allows the animals strong shape to be nice and clear. It’a s great moment as well. It gives me the impression that this animal is striding with purpose to do something very important! The photographer has shown a great understanding for the use of light and dark to draw the eye. Whether by burning in the corners deliberately, or simply a well chosen conversion, the two lower dark corners push the view towards the elephant immediately. A superb image!" - Dan Carr
"This is a rare moment because usually when you capture an image of a big cat hunting, they’re totally fixated on their prey. In this image, it appears as if the cat is looking right at the photographer, despite being in a sharp right-hand turn! Well done for being quick on the trigger and having a fast enough shutter speed ready for stopping the motion. It’s also a great B&W conversion without any nasty bright hot spots. The brighter areas on the leopard balance nicely with the upper left corner’s darker grass. A nice even tone across the whole image that doesn’t distract from the piercing eyes of the beautiful cat. Love it!" - Dan Carr
"I’m always looking for B&W conversions that don’t look over processed. I don’t want to see too many crushed blacks or blown whites, and this wonderful lion image displays a great range of tones between the two extremes. The intensity of the stare is wonderfully captured, and the choice to fill the frame is a good one when depth of field is used to guide the eyes to the focal point, rather than needing external lines of some sort." - Dan Carr
