BPOTY - Celebrating the best images from the USA
Since completing the first competition in 2016, Bird Photographer of the Year has grown year-on-year and is now a competition with true global reach. Our 2019 competition saw entry numbers double that of year one, with submissions from photographers from 63 countries around the world.
The BPOTY Birds in Flight Gold Award winning image for 2019 was taken by Nikunj Patel from Maryland and was one of a number of stunning entries received from the US.
Of particular note is the wealth of entries from the United States. We received some truly stunning images from this side of the pond as evidenced by this amazing photograph of a Black Skimmer (above) that earned Nikunj Patel our Gold Award in the Birds in Flight category. Nikunj, who hails from Maryland, won a pair of Swarovski Optik binoculars worth over $1,200 and was considered along with 6 other category winners for the overall Bird Photographer of the Year title and the main prize of £5,000 (over $6,000 at the time of writing). Our winner this year was Caron Steele from the United Kingdom, and previous years have seen winners from Mexico and Peru. You can view all this year’s winners here.
As well as Nikunj’s winning image, we received hundreds of amazing photographs from photographers based in the US. The following photographs were taken by US-based photographers and made the latest BPOTY book, published annually by HarperCollins, celebrating the best competition entries and representing the pinnacle of bird photography from around the world. Books from the 2019 and past competitions can be purchased from the BPOTY online shop.
John Crawley was commended by the judges in the Birds in the Environment category for this image of a Keel-billed Toucan in the rainforest of Costa Rica.
This stunning image of a Rufous Hummingbird with its tongue out scooped Madeline Nolan our Silver Award in the Young Bird Photographer of the Year competition.
Steven Blandin was commended by the judges in the Bird Behaviour category for this image of Snowy Egrets taken in Florida.
Joshua Galicki received five commendations from the judges including one for this image of Gentoo Penguins entered into the Best Portrait category.
On the judging team are renown bird photographer Brian E. Small and editor of Bird Watching Magazine, Matt Mendenhall. Both are looking forward to seeing what the US has to offer the 2020 competition. With prizes worth over £20,000 ($24,000) there are plenty of opportunities to win and have your photography showcased to the world. Take a look at the prizes on offer here. And BPOTY is passionate about conservation too, having donated thousands of pounds to conservation projects over the course of the last four years. Take a look at the conservation pages for more information.
If you would like to enter Bird Photographer of the Year 2020, the competition is now open, closing for entries on 30 November 2019. Enter here.