Taking a break from shooting today - and instead looking at some amazing images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. If you want to be a great photographer you need to look at great photographs
WPOTY is the world's biggest and best wildlife photography competition and we visit every year with our Friday Night group of 11 - 17 year olds. We managed the first visit this year, before the lockdown came and the Natural History Museum closed its doors. We will go back as soon as we can.
All images Copyright NHM
Click the collage to see the 2019 finalists
Look through this gallery of this year's finalists and try to choose your 3 favourites. You will probably know instantly which ones you like best. Then try to work out why you like one picture and not another. Can you even express it in words ? We respond with head and heart to great art and often it's impossible to know why something touches or appeals to us.
When we visit the exhibition we say this to our students
1. Move slowly through the galleries. Look at the pictures and try to imagine yourself as the photographer. Take time to study the image and try to work out how the photographer got the picture and why it is succesful. Imagine yourself on that snowy mountaintop or diving deep into the ocean. It might help to read the caption. Where was it taken - is there a story behind the image ?
2. Consider the technical requirements. The kind of lens - the shutter speed - any special equipment such as camera traps or drones.
3. Choose 3 favourite pictures and say why you like them.
Image copyright NHM