Photographers Represented by Nature in Stock Win Numerous Prizes in This Year’s Edition
De Groene Camera 2022 photo contest results
Jowan Iven standing in front of his series Dutch Jungle
Published
Mar 25, 2022
Words
Nature in Stock
Last Saturday, on March 21, the results of the Groene Camera nature photo competition were announced. Among this year’s prize winners are once again many photographers whose work is represented by Nature in Stock, with two standout achievements: Jowan Iven, who won the grand prize Nature Photographer of the Year 2022 with his series Dutch Jungle, and Marcel van Kammen, whose entry won the Nature Photo of the Year 2022. For the blog, we asked some of the photographers if they could share something about their award-winning photos.
00134765 – © Marcel van Kammen / Nature in Stock
1. Three Common Voles (Microtus arvalis) seeking shelter by Marcel van Kammen – Overall Winner, Nature Photo of the Year 2022 & Winner in the Mammals, Amphibians and Reptiles category. – Nikon D4 with 300mm; 1/640s at F5.6; ISO 800
“I took this photo of three Common Voles during a strong northwesterly storm in November 2021, on the pier of Holwerd in Friesland. Due to the combination of the storm and high tide, the voles were forced out of their habitat on the salt marshes. The little creatures sought shelter from the wind on the pier and huddled together to stay warm. I lay down in the shelter of my car and was able to take a close-up photo with a telephoto lens without unnecessarily disturbing the animals.
The combination of a spring tide and a northwesterly storm generally occurs once or twice a year, usually in the months of November or December. Since 2009, I have tried to be present along the Wadden Sea coast every time this phenomenon occurs to take photographs. You have to be lucky that the high tide coincides with daytime hours. Due to the rapidly rising water, many mammals get into trouble, including species like rats, stoats, weasels, hares, and foxes. The ones that survive the swim seek out higher ground and hope to endure the cold, harsh conditions.
The large number of swimming or weakened voles, exposed in the open on the pier or sea dike, attracts many birds such as gulls, short-eared owls and buzzards, all looking to take advantage of the situation. Stoats and weasels also eagerly prey on the weakened voles. It is a true battle against the elements with many victims.
For years, I focused on capturing the combination of visible weather conditions and the struggle of these voles. However, for this particular photo, I chose to emphasize the vulnerability and the emotion conveyed by the image, combined with their adorable appearance.”
00134894 – © David Pattyn / Nature in Stock
2. Panicking Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) adult on the water in heavy rainstorm, frantically trying to locate its young by David Pattyn – Winner in the Black and White category of the Groene Camera 2022 photo contest. – Sony A9 with FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS; 1/400s at F4; ISO 2000
“I have been photographing from a floating hide for twenty years. It allows me to observe birds in their natural environment without disturbing them. My favorite birds are grebes because of their spectacular behavior and interesting family life.
I had long wanted to photograph grebes during a heavy rainstorm, but such conditions don’t occur very often at the right time and at the right place. On June 17, 2020, severe thunderstorms were forecast, so I positioned myself in my floating hide well before the storm arrived. The showers turned out to be even heavier than I had expected. In the photo you can see an adult grebe frantically searching for its chicks which it had lost sight of. Fortunately, at the end of the rainstorm, the chicks were found again.
Like most photographers, I prefer to capture images in the best possible light. For grebes, this means on sunny, windless days. But in reality, they often live in very bad weather, which we rarely see depicted in images. That makes sense because trying to capture such conditions in a visually appealing way is quite a challenge. To be able to get this shot, I had to wait a long time for the right moment. Only during truly heavy rainfall does it become interesting (though also pretty risky for your equipment). By converting the image to black and white, the scene became even more dramatic.”
3. Dutch Jungle by Jowan Iven – Winner of the Nature Photographer of the Year as well as the Series category in the Groene Camera 2022 photo contest. – Sony A9 with FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS
“A few years ago, I was at a beautiful location with a lot of Solomon’s Seal. Since this plant is very well suited for macro photography, it immediately caught my eye. But this time I wanted to create something different, to find a new angle. So, I decided to try using a wide-angle lens and shoot the plant from below, to see what kind of image that would produce. Looking at the result, I was charmed by the surprisingly beautiful and different perspective. Without realizing it at the time, right there and then the idea for the series was born.
I dedicated a significant part of 2020 to ‘Dutch Jungle’—as I had already named the project for myself. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that no one could travel anymore, so this was the perfect time to search for the jungle close to home. I chose black and white as a stylistic approach, because by omitting colors, the recognition of the subject decreased, and the sense of alienation increased. At the same time, I thought it would be a good idea to shoot the entire series with a 12mm lens. This would only further enhance the sense of alienation.
As the project progressed, I became increasingly better at recognizing potential scenes. But mastering the 12mm wide-angle lens required quite some practice. It helped to view everything in monochrome via live view. This allowed me to focus more on the lines and structures within the composition.
In total, I shot around 3,000 images for the project. Throughout that period, I marked my favorites right away, which helped speed up the selection process. But even then, some “darlings” had to be sacrificed to create a well-balanced series. Those were the tough moments.
The crowning of the series with the title ‘Nature Photographer of the Year’ is a great honor and a validation of the chosen approach. It is a recognition of the entire project, from start to finish. It’s wonderful that all the effort has been rewarded.”
See the slider below for all the other prize-winning images
Did you know that these images may also be purchased as a canvas print, framed print, and more through our own dedicated printshop called Nature in Print? You will find them – and more from other contests – in a collection aptly called Prize Winners.
