If you’re ready to give that new camera a spin, you’ll find creative inspiration at “Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2006,” now on view at National Geographic’s Explorers Hall.
The adult and youth collections feature stunning photographs by professionals and amateurs worldwide. They lead you on a journey through jungles, up mountains and into underwater worlds. Among breath-taking vistas:
» A turtle enjoying a grooming by fish local to Hawaii’s Honokohau Harbor. The technicolor groomers, who include yellow tang, goldenring surgeonfish and saddleback wrasse, nibble algae growing on turtle shells and skin. A great catch by deep sea seer Andre Seale.
» A vivid underwater shot opening a window into the walrus world. Over time diving with these pinnipeds, Goran Ehlmé learned how to approach without disturbing his subjects. The eye-to-eye views in this and other shots in the exhibition may move you to imagine what the animals are thinking.
» A moral dilemma. To capture a mortal drama, will a young photographer let a green vine snake finish off his victim? A compassionate friend makes the decision to interrupt mid-bite, allowing the Hispaniolan tree frog to hop another day.
Besides a keen eye, other aspects of the photographic arts are clearly evident in this visual refuge.
The confluence of composition chops, patience and luck yields a mesmerizing view of naturally mirrored balls of moisture reflecting a calm lake and its surrounding landscape. Uncanny cropping transforms dew on a windowpane into a gripping abstraction.
Pictures of wise owls and wild dogs capture motion along with beauty and strength. A rare and careful close-up reveals the supernatural color of a bird’s plume. Surreptitiously intruding on a private moment, a photographer captures a damselfly emerging from her monstrous husk, a lithe beauty in all her post-moulting glory.
Some images probe beneath the surface, detecting the destructive effects of man on the ecosystem. These include gentle, napping manatees who bear fresh wounds inflicted by boaters’ outboard propellers. And there’s irony: One view from above presents a deforested storm-damaged area in the shape of a deciduous tree. This asks the question, is Mother Nature sending a coded message to the lumber industry?
Wall text accompanying each photo sums up enlightening data, including camera type, lens and settings, plus brief revelations of how the photographer got the shot.
For example, getting the shot sometimes requires crawling on your belly — through flamingo droppings. We also learn that award-winning photographers aren’t immune to snapping snafus. One digital explorer recounts how, having run out of memory cards, he had to sacrifice several previously taken shots to free up space to capture that “as-I-was-leaving” stunner.
National Geographic is the first U.S. venue displaying the 2006 winners of the competition, which has been sponsored for 42 years by London’s Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine.
After taking this indoor nature hike, you may be inspired to chase after award-winners yourself. National Geographic even offers free tips from the pros at www.national geographic.com/photography/cam erabag/hottips.html.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2006
On view through Feb. 4
» Venue: National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall, 1145 17th St. NW
» Info: 202-857-7588;
www.nationalgeographic.com/museum
More Natural Wonders
Another wonderful exhibition of winners crossing age, experience and geographic borders lights up the National Museum of Natural History. The Reston-based Nature’s Best Photography International Awards present joyful and phenomenal images such as a dolphin hitchhiking on a humpback whale in Hawaii and horseshoe crabs greeting the dawn in Delaware Bay. Take online views at www.naturesbestmagazine.com.
Nature’s Best
On view through mid-March
» Venue: National Museum of Natural
History, 10th and Constitution Avenue NW
» Info: 202-633-1000; mnh.si.edu
