At the peak of the pandemic, with many people confined to their homes, wildlife slowly began to reclaim quiet urban and suburban spaces. It offered opportunistic photographers a chance to capture the antics of these urban adapters as they explored new territory or found themselves in much quieter conditions than usual. The team at online photography platform Picfair spotted an opportunity and created the inaugural Urban Wildlife Photography Awards.
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Overall Winner
The contest attracted amateur and professional photographers from across the globe and over 6,000 photos were submitted for consideration. Everything from mating toads in Budapest to pigeons in London were included in the uniquely beautiful collection of images.
The top prize went to Andrew Interisano for his shot of two coyotes photographed in the glow of streetlights in Ontario, Canada (shown above). "I thought it was my car that had caught their attention as I rounded the corner, and maybe it had at first, but as I rolled down the window I heard it was another group of howling coyotes that had piqued their interest," Interisano explained. "I parked, turned the engine off, and frantically went to work with the camera … however, in the rush of that moment I was soon compelled to put my camera down and soak in the scene."
Other winning images include a photo of a rat emerging from a Mexican sewer and a perfectly framed shot of a flamingo snapped by Hungarian zoologist Mano Aliczki while on holiday in Italy.
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards "Nightlife" Winner
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards "Daylight" Winner
Judging the competition was Picfair’s head of content Philip Mowbray and guest judges – professional wildlife photographers Melissa Groo, Andrew Budziak, and Will Burrard-Lucas – as well as writer and urban wildlife author Florence Wilkinson. Here's a look at some of the other winners and finalists:
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards “Fancy Seeing You Here” Winner
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
Picfair Urban Wildlife Photo Awards Finalist
The full finalists and winners’ gallery can be viewed on the Picfair website. Profits from all print sales go to the global conservation non-profit Re:Wild.
Header image: Jozef Kovalík
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