National Geographic Photo Contests
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 @ 01:57
There are few organizations more prestigious than National Geographic when it comes to publishing stunning photography, and that is why any contest they run is one that enjoys worldwide participation by both amateur and professional photographers alike.
For example, a recent contest featuring wildlife subjects highlighted the work of photographers across the globe who submitted photographs depicting a variety of emotions. The winner, however, submitted a stunning photograph of caged monkeys in China who were awaiting their fate at a medical laboratory in the Hubei Province. The photograph depicted the absolute hopelessness on the faces of these monkeys, as they awaited their fate in captivity, amid the crowded conditions of their individual cages all bundled together in claustrophobic tension. Clearly the winning image subverts the normally romanticized approach to wildlife photograph that most photographers employ and replaces it with this one of stark realism that shows the conditions that mark the fate of many of our planet's wild animals.
The photo that won in this category shared many of the same characteristics with winning entries in other categories and these mainly centered around the photographer's ability to tell a compelling story with his photograph; one that would capture the hearts and minds of people from all cultures and languages. It is rare for a photograph to successfully accomplish this, but it would appear that the winning entries in the National Geographic contests all seem successful in this area.
When looking at the caged monkeys in this particular winning photo entry, no one would need a translator to tell them that these animals face the most devastating of hardship conditions. All one has to do is look into their eyes to feel their pain. It takes a gifted photographer to pull this kind of an emotional shot off and when he does, he has the makings of an award-winning photograph, not to mention a successful career.
To get more information about the many contest categories sponsored by National Geographic publications, as well as view prior winning entries, just go to the website address listed below.
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