Although the timing of timed photography is largely fortunate, everyone can agree that it is still an achievement that can only be attributed to the skill and determination of the photographer.
That's why there's a contest called the Comedy Wildlife Photography Award, which collects the best (and funniest) wildlife pictures taken by outstanding photographers who happen to be something strange, weird, or flat about a perfect shot of an animal. Come out funny.
We've been celebrating these wonderful moments with CWPA for years, like here, here, here, here and here, and this year is no exception.
Below you can find interviews with the CWPA team and our selection of the best of the year to date, so feel free to scroll through, vote on your favorites, and hey, why not add titles to them through the hilarious way of commenting!
"Bald Eagle gets a surprise", Arthur Trevino
When the vulture missed its attempt to catch the prairie dog, the prairie dog jumped at the eagle, stunned long enough, and fled into a nearby cave. A true david and giant story! ”
Kevin Biskaborn's "Life in Isolation"
"Isolated inside with a family yearning to go out and explore the world?" The same goes for these eastern raccoons. When you think there is no more space in the tree hole, the female raccoon appears and shows how compact the space is. The babies climbed the wall. All over their moms, each other is struggling to find the exact time. This photo was taken in southwestern Ontario, Canada. After exploring a specific area with numerous shades, I identified it as a hotspot for raccoon families. Since raccoons move from one nest to another, they usually don't stay in a particular nest for more than one night at a time, so finding areas with multiple options is key to finding animals. I stumbled upon the family and immediately set about leveling the camera with holes to prevent tilting upwards. With the camera and tripod ready, the little raccoon was very curious (and cooperative) and stuck his head out to take a closer look! ”
Giovanni Querzani's "ROFL"
So, what's new this year? CWPA co-founder Tom Sullam explains how this year is different from before:
"As this year's pandemic continues to impact world travel, we thought we might have received fewer entries than usual, but surprisingly, so far we've received a lot of response, especially in the 'in the air' category, where we've received hundreds of copies, perhaps we've all spent more time at home lately, while under-travel means more people notice wildlife in homes near kitchen windows, which is fantastic." ”
"The Mood of Monday Morning," Andrew Mayes
"I took this photo while photographing a group of spotted mynahs perched in trees in the Rievle Nature Reserve in South Africa. It summed up my mood perfectly on most Monday mornings :)"
KT Wong's Yoga Brine
A yellow bitter water was doing its best to get into a comfortable hunting position. When it was between two bunches of lotus flowers, I got this picture. ”
"Yes - it's Friday!" Lucy Beveridge
"A young springbok, with full ears and bent legs, was trapped in mid-air as the sun swooped down as the sun began to rise over the Park of Kalagadi Transfrontier. There's not much information about why Springboks haunt, but some theories suggest it's a way to demonstrate fitness and strength to fend off predators and attract companions. It is also said that this small, delicate and largely unappreciated antelope is also excited and jumps for joy! ”
Sullam elaborated: "We usually receive about 7,000 to 8,000 images, and hopefully get the same images this year, maybe not as many elephants or hyenas." "But the biggest benefit of this game is that wildlife is everywhere, which is why we're so passionate about protecting wildlife." Indeed, a few years ago, a shocked squirrel won the overall prize, so there is no excuse not to participate. ”
Tom Svensson's "Happy"
"These penguins surf on the waves and look happy every time"
Philipp Stahr's "Licking lips for kissing"
"This photo was taken on the dutch caribbean island of Curaçao. Usually, box fish are difficult to photograph because they don't have the problem of divers approaching, but if you show interest, they always turn back instead of heading toward the sea. That's why I tried to swim 0.5m above the fish and had no interest in him; at the same time my camera wasn't in front of me, but was pointing to the bottom under my chest. When the moment came, I rotated the camera 90 degrees forward, then aimed and shot, hoping to point the fish at focus. I didn't expect its beautiful lips to close tightly! ”
Rorank Bakshi's "Wild Hippopotamus"
"The little hippopotamus wanted to get his mother's attention, but it seemed that he got nothing..."
"Personally, it had to be one of the images of the 2017 victory, three owls resting on branches ... Except for one of the owls who wasn't resting, he/she was struggling to hold on to the branches while the companion was trying to ignore the clown/fooling around him. It seems that all three of us who run Comedy Wildlife have left a very real impression. Michelle kept it all while Paul or Tom scrambled to keep up with the other two! ”
Lea Scaddan的“ Missed”
"There were two western grey kangaroos fighting and one of them didn't hit him in the stomach."
Txema Garcia Laseca's "Houston, We're Having Trouble"
"It was amazing that this fish was trapped on a fisherman bird."