Asia Pacific Photography Awards 2022 Winner Animal / Nature Category

This morning I awoke to the astounding but fabulous announcement that I made a complete clean sweep in the 2022 Asia / Pacific Photography Awards with a hat trick in the Animal / Nature category, taking out First, Second and Third place. My winning photograph of the Emperor Penguin family took First place and a Gold Award with Second and Third places, earning Silver with Merit Awards and a top 20 finalist award. On top of the above, I was named the runner-up in the Grand Champion award for the three highest-scoring photographs across all competition categories. Entering these awards was a spur-of-the-moment decision on my part after a long hiatus of not entering any photographic competitions. I recall sitting at my office desk just before entries closed, asking myself if I could be bothered to even enter the awards. I would have never dreamed of breaking back onto the scene with first, second, and third places and being named overall Grand Champion runner-up. Especially having taken some time and looked at the incredibly high caliber of work produced across the competition. Feeling very humbled and grateful.

Judges comment: Beautiful image, well done! I particularly love that the chick is facing away from the camera, making the image somehow feel more intimate. The little bits of snow falling over the parents just add to the context of this environment too.

Judges comment: An absolutely stunning, high-key image, beautifully timed. The slight motion blur in the wings really adds depth to this. Well done!

Judges comment: A wonderfully poignant wildlife image that has a powerful mood; the light is gorgeous and I can feel the cold just looking at the bears breath! Well done.