WildArt 2023 Competition Categories
This year, the WildArt competition is structured in a series of eight category contests as outlined below. Each of the categories will be judged by a small team from our selection of judges (details of our judges can be found on our Judges page). Each category will be judged individually throughout the year, following the close of entries, and the judging teams will be varied from category to category. The category titles are designed to invite entrant interpretation and attract the broadest range of images and ideas, although guidelines are provided to assist you with what’s required. For further inspiration, take a look at last year’s winning images by clicking here.
Each monthly contest is now open for entries and each will close sequentially at the end of the month for which it is assigned as indicated below. The winning and awarded images in each category will be announced and displayed on this website within 60 days of the category contest closing; the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Founder’s Choice Award winning images going forward to the grand WildArt Photographer of the Year final to be decided before 31st December 2023. Scroll to the bottom of the page for our finalists gallery and see it fill up as we go through the competition - will your name be on the list?
MARCH - ‘LIGHT’ Closed for entries and winners announced! Sponsored by Finnature.
Photography is the art of recording light. Sounds obvious perhaps, but it takes skill and vision to use it to its best effect and create an image that stirs the emotions. Light is the very essence of photography, and this category seeks an image that best captures light in the most adept and imaginative way. Soft, harsh, warm, cold, shade, contrast: use your skill and imagination to express your art and celebrate both your subject and light itself.
We are delighted that Finnature have chosen to sponsor our Gold Award for this category and are offering a place on their Autumn Eagles Photography Trip worth around 1,800 euros! Here is what you can expect, plus a direct link to the trip on their website:
Autumn season provides possibilities for different Eagle images! Imagine the glowing autumn colors and magnificent Golden Eagles in this environment. Occasional morning frost makes everything seem even more fragile and beautiful. This short photography break is all about Eagles – now with autumn feel. In addition there will be many Sparrowhawks chasing Jays this time of the year – so there is good chance for some great action shots too. Three full days at our comfortable hide in Utajärvi bring memorable experiences for visitors.
Visit the web page here.
2. APRIL - ‘WET’. Closed for entries and winners announced!
In this category we are seeking images which incorporate wildlife and water in its many forms, including snow and ice. But WET is not limited to water alone and could include other liquids, perhaps the blood-soaked face of a Lion after a kill for example – be imaginative and show the judges something spectacular and which celebrates the art of photography.
3. MAY - ‘AIRBORNE’. Closed for entries and winners announced!
New for 2023, in this category, air, and nature’s relationship with it, is the central focus. Birds and insects in flight are an obvious choice, but don’t neglect jumping animals, or even seeds floating on a breeze. As long as your subject is in the air, then this is the category for it.
4. JUNE - ‘COLOUR’. Closed for entries and winners announced!
The natural world is full of vibrancy and modern digital imaging technology is allowing us to capture this in more detail than ever before. This category seeks to celebrate the colour that nature brings to all our lives. Be creative in your approach in how you portray nature’s colour and you may strike gold.
5. JULY - ‘TINY’. Closed for entries and winners announced!.
Another new category for 2023, TINY seeks to celebrate the delights of the natural world in miniature. There is so much of nature’s art that can be revealed through close-up work and magnification, so show us something special, details that we don’t ordinarily get to see, new angles, or small elements. Or why not think outside the box with a large animal tiny in the frame? Interpret the category in your own way, but think small!
6. AUGUST - ‘ABSTRACTS’. Now closed for entries and winners announced!
Nature is full of amazing patterns, textures and forms, allowing endless scope for the creation of imaginative natural abstract images. The colour of autumn leaves dancing on the first gusts of an incoming storm, the textures of lichen-covered rocks, the symmetry of a mass wader flock on a coastal mudflat, the deep crazing of an elephant’s skin, a dew-soaked spider’s web or the spiral of a snail’s shell are all good examples. But the possibilities are boundless. Take a close look at the things around you and search for an image that celebrates the wonder of nature’s hidden abstracts.
7. SEPTEMBER - ‘NATURESCAPES’. Closed for entries and winners announced!
Another new category for 2023, NATURESCAPES is where wildlife and landscape photography meet! In this category, we are looking for your depictions of the beauty of nature’s landscapes and habitats. Anything from a sweeping large-scale vista to a detailed close-up of a lichen colony, the choice is yours. Let’s celebrate the diversity of our natural habitats and locations – we can’t wait to see what you have to offer.
8. OCTOBER - ‘SPACE’. Closed for entries and winners announced!
Space is such an important element in the composition of an image and its imaginative use can change its mood and message, creating atmosphere and a sense of place – a feeling of being there. Give your subjects room to breathe, place them in the context of their environments, show how positive and negative space can dance together and create an image of outstanding artistry. Do this and our judges may make space for you in his winning line-up.