Fujifilm Getaway Wildlife Awards 2011

Greetings friends and readers, yesterday I received some really great news regarding the

Fujifilm Getaway Wildlife Awards 2011

.
 
My image “At the mercy of men” of a lone Rhinoceros in black and white was the overall winner of the Animal General category of this year’s competition. For several years this has remained a rather tough category to crack through but this year the judges saw something that really caught their eye and I am elated at being chosen as the winner for this category. In addition I received First Runner Up in the same category with another image of mine

“Lone Jackal on Etosha Pan”

which is another low key monochrome image taken in Etosha earlier this year. I was also chosen as winner of the Landscapes and Plants category for a second year running with my image “Deadvlei Sunrise” taken in the iconic and world famous dead pan nestled in the tall red sand dunes of Namibia. Last but not least, my image “Rush Hour” of a wildebeest migration in the

Maasai Mara

, received a Certificate of Merit in the Animal Behaviour category of the competition.
 
It’s been really wonderful news and I’m still pinching myself thinking I have dreamed this all up.
 
I would like to thank everyone at Fujifilm and Getaway for these great honours and recognition of my work. I would also like to thank you, my friends and followers, who have been there supporting me every step of the way.
 
The Fujifilm Getaway Wildlife Awards remains to be one of the most coveted awards by

South African photographers

. This is one of the few

photographic awards

left in the world that judges images based on the actual print instead of a digital image on screen.  This year the quality of the winning images and certificates across all categories was really top class and it’s great to see some of the top photographers in South Africa recognised for their hard work and perserverance.
 
With the total onslaught of

Rhino poaching in South Africa

over the last 2 years it is especially welcome to see my Rhino image displayed for all to see.

Conservation and protection of wildlife

are issues which have always been very close to my heart and the Rhino poaching issue especially is one that digs deep into the psyche of just about every nature lover in the world.  The image is very close to my heart and was that way from the very moment I captured it. To me it portrays a vision that I hope to never see in my lifetime, the last Rhino standing out in an open field long after all the other Rhino’s have been slaughtered. It would be a grim day if we ever see the headline “Last Rhino Killed”.
 
Thank you once again to everyone for their support and encouragement over the years.
 
Over the next few weeks I’ll be delving into each of these 4 images with a separate blog post on each where I’ll share a little about the locations, circumstances and thought processes surrounding the images.

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