Focus for Survival 2023 Finalists Announced
Twelve superb images of the natural world feature in this year's Focus for Survival final.
The finalists of the 2023 Focus for Survival photography competition have been announced.
The competition has been running since 2019, and each year has seen a growing number of entries from amateur and professional photographers all over the world.
Photographers are tasked with capturing images that celebrate the natural world. Entries this year ranged from the icy peaks of the Greater Himalayas in Pakistan to the sparkling blue of the Caribbean Sea off Dominica.
The world’s leading independent publisher, Bradt Travel Guides, supports the annual image competition.
The 12 finalists feature in a fundraising calendar, on sale now. Funds raised help to support specific conservation projects focused on recovering key species and restoring ecosystems.
The expert panel of judges included award-winning wildlife photographers/authors Noril Jemil and James Lowen.
Sara White, trustee of Explorers Against Extinction said: “The standard of photography has been extremely high this year. The 12 images take us on a journey around the world, highlighting the beauty and colour of our planet while also helping to raise awareness about its fragility.”
Finalists include amateur photographer Tracey Graves, a 48-year-old doctor from Cambridge. Graves took her winning image in Mara North Conservancy in Kenya, shortly after recuperating from major surgery.
Graves said: “ We had sat with two sleeping cheetah brothers for over an hour, and they did not seem inclined to move. I had jokingly said to our guide that it would be nice to get a silhouette of a cheetah up a tree. As the sun went down the cats started to stretch. The other few vehicles at the sighting left for sundowners and we were rewarded with the shot I had asked for, with just enough light to play with.”
Professional photographers making the final 12 include Celia Kujala, an award-winning wildlife and underwater photographer from the United States with her endearing portrait of a stellar sea lion, taken in British Columbia, Canada, and Paddy Scott, a photographer and cameraman based in London, studying an MSc in Global Environmental Politics and Policy.
Scott’s dramatic monochrome image captures an avalanche at K6, Karakoram, Greater Himalayas, Pakistan. Scott said: “ I was there photographing a climbing expedition attempting a nearby unclimbed peak. Shortly after arriving at base camp, a massive fall of unseasonable snow coated all the surrounding mountains. As weather patterns change across the planet due to global heating, weather patterns are becoming ever more unpredictable.”
The public have an opportunity to select their favourite image by voting in the People’s Choice Award (voting closes in October).
Image at top: K6, Pakistan by Paddy Scott
Title image: Cheetah Sunset, Tracey Graves