Indian photographer Varun Aditya's click has won the first place in 'Animal Portrait' category of National Geographic's Photographer of the Year contest.
National Geographic never fails to amaze wildlife enthusiasts across the world. And Nat Geo’s annual ‘Nature Photographer of the Year’ contest brings to the world some of the best clicks of the year and celebrates the hard work photographers put into every picture they click.
This year, Coimbatore-based Varun Aditya’s magnificent click of a green vine snake in Amboli forest of Maharashtra has won the first place in the ‘Animal Portrait’ category.
Source: Facebook
Varun, who defines himself as an ardent nature lover and a self-taught professional photographer focusing on wildlife, nature, and landscape photography, announced the good news on his Facebook page.
The description of the photograph by Varun reads as follows:
I HAVE WON THE FIRST PLACE IN NATGEO NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2016 IN “ANIMAL PORTRAITS” CATEGORY !
Thank you…Posted by Varun Aditya Photography on Friday, December 9, 2016
“I shot this at Amboli, Maharashtra, India, on 24 July 2016, during a morning stroll into the blissful rain forest. Ceaseless drizzles dampened the woods for 10 hours a day; the serene gloom kept me guessing if it was night or day. The heavy fog, chilling breeze, and perennial silence could calm roaring spirits And there I saw this beauty. I wondered if I needed more reasons to capture the habitat, for I was blessed to see this at the place I was at. I immediately switched from the macro to the wide-angle lens and composed this frame.”
Varun won a 2,500$ cash prize. The contest was judged by esteemed judges including National Geographic magazine’s senior photo editor of natural history assignments, Kathy Moran, and photographers Joe Riis and Jim Brandenburg.
Another Indian photographer, Prasenjeet Yadav’s click of the green meteor rushing towards earth’s surface received an honourable mention in the landscape category.
Featured image source: Facebook
Also read: Love Photography but Don’t Know How to Earn from It? Let 3 Young Photographers Show You How.
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