Highly Commended: Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY59) – Animal Portraits

Back in my senior year of high school, we were asked to write a prediction about our adult future. This was our chance to say something goofy or outlandish, though I suppose some folks took it pretty seriously and had a concrete sense of where they were going with their lives. In my case, I had developed a keen interest in film making. I’m pretty sure I wrote something along the lines of, “After winning my third Oscar…”

I gave up the movies long ago, but eventually found myself in another medium behind the lens. And now I’m proud to announce that I’ve indeed picked up my third honor in the “Oscars” of my profession, the esteemed Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards. My photo, titled “Snow Bison,” was chosen as a Highly Commended image in the vaunted Animal Portraits category in the 59th year of this competition.

This honor was actually revealed last month, thanks to the early media preview of some of the Highly Commended images… and the fact that my image was chosen to grace many of the banners and advertisements touting the exhibit at London’s Natural History Museum (an honor in itself!).

Okay, so “Highly Commended” isn’t a category winner (so technically not an Oscar win?), but frankly, landing any image in the top 100 out of fifty thousand or so entries—and having one’s work displayed at the Natural History Museum—is a victory.

This is my second commended image in Animal Portraits, the category that traditionally receives the most entries in WPY, following my tayra photo in WPY56. It’s also my second bison photo to be honored, on the heels of my Black-and-White winner in WPY55. It’s fitting, I suppose, that I had another Yellowstone photo make the cut, and I’m honored to represent the park (a place that is so special to me) again through my work. If you want to learn more about the creation of this photo, read more here.

A hearty congratulations to my fellow honorees in this year’s competition!

View the full collection of WPY59 images.

Order Prints

Once again, I am offering a variety of ways to order prints online. You can order large limited edition prints, or standard finishes and other sizes. Read on to learn more about these options.

Limited Edition Prints:

30″ x 23″ fine art Photo Rag Baryta paper prints, signed and numbered, set of 25: $1800US + S/H.

36″ x 27″ fine art Photo Rag Baryta paper prints, signed and numbered, set of 25: $2800US + S/H.

Contact me directly if you are interested in a limited edition print.

Standard Prints:

There are two ways to order standard prints. I generally recommend that folks use the Pixels option, especially for international orders or for pre-matted/framed prints, but you can also order from a more limited selection of prints through my website.

Order pre-matted and framed prints of the winning image via Pixels.com: Including matted/framed prints, or various gift items featuring the photo. Pixels also has several international fulfillment centers that make may ordering internationally easier/cheaper. This is also a faster way to receive prints while I am traveling!

Order prints directly through my website: You can choose from a limited variety of paper or finishes if you order via my archive. Any print orders placed here will not be fulfilled while I am traveling, so wait time may be longer.

I set up a page with a summary of all ordering options for each of my WPY-winning images.

If you have any questions about placing a print order, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

The scene from the Natural History Museum.

I was very excited to receive word of this year’s honor, particularly since the last award landed right in the middle of COVID. As I learned in 2019 during my first in-person visit, the trip to London, the Natural History Museum, and the WPY experience are special… so I was itching to get back! Highly Commended honorees don’t receive any award money, and our travel expenses aren’t covered, but I still felt it was worth it. And as it turned out, Jenn was also looking forward to coming back. Plus, I needed to justify spending all that money on a tux last time.

Having just returned from London, I can say that the event was as fun as ever, and presented such a wonderful opportunity to meet my fellow photographers. Learning their stories, getting insight from the judges about their thought process, and seeing these marvelous photos on the wall up close was incredibly special. Big thanks to the judging panel for the award, and for granting me this opportunity!

Click here to view all of the winning and commended images from this year’s competition.

Photos will be exhibited in the Natural History Museum in London for the next several months, and the show will soon tour worldwide!