Nothing beats strolling through a gallery of great images or poring over a beautiful book at your leisure. I find the more I see and think about other people’s pictures, the better I can critique and hone my own. Happily, October is a bumper month for the launch of new nature photography exhibitions and books, and now that many of the best offerings are also available online, inspiration can be yours, wherever you are. Here are the things that I’m particularly looking forward to in the coming weeks.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Possibly the greatest highlight of the nature photography calendar is the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, now in its 60th year. A few images from this year’s collection have already been released, but the big reveal of all the award winners will take place on 8 October, and it’ll be hard to miss the press buzz around it.
The images usually look their very best backlit in the exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, opening on 11 October. I’ll be reviewing the latest show in a few weeks’ time, when I’ve seen it for myself. Tickets are available to book now (and were selling fast when I last looked).
A touring exhibition will take the images elsewhere in the UK and worldwide, and you can also visit the online gallery.
For the stories behind the images, check out the annual Portfolio book, available to order from 9 October.
WildPhotos
This new one-day wildlife photography symposium kicks off at Bristol Aquarium Megascreen and online on 13 October.
Hosted by Wildscreen and the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, it promises a stellar line up of speakers – including headliners Thomas Peschak and Charlie Hamilton James, both award-winning National Geographic photographers – as well as some thought-provoking discussion.
For those of us who enjoyed the annual symposium by the same name, some years back, at the Royal Geographical Society, this new venture is certainly an exciting prospect.
You can check out the full programme and buy tickets from WildPhotos.
Alongside the symposium, a free outdoor exhibition of selected Wildlife Photographer of the Year images will be on show on College Green, Bristol from 2 to 21 October.
Bird Photographer of the Year
The winners of this highly regarded annual competition were announced a few days ago on 24 September.
You can peruse all the awarded images in the online gallery and in the accompanying book
An exhibition of the winning images will be touring soon, the first venue to be finalised, so far, is Nature in Art, Gloucestershire, from 26 November to 22 December. I may well be first in the queue.
GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Hosted by the German Society for Nature Photography, this competition was launched in 2001 as a one-off event but quickly became an esteemed annual fixture.
This year’s poignant and topical Fritz Pölking portfolio prize winners have already been announced and are viewable in the online gallery. All the other category awards will be announced on 25 October at the International Nature Photography Festival in Lünen.
Astronomy Photography of the Year
This is, perhaps, pushing the definition of nature photography a little, but the awarded pictures in this international competition are both beautiful and mind-boggling. Even if most of them are not the sort of pictures I will be taking any day soon, they are certainly inspiring to see.
The results of the 2024 competition were announced earlier in September, and the exhibition is now open at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich till summer 2025. This year’s exhibition is free to visit, while building works are underway to maintain the Museum’s roof.
If you can’t make it in person, you can browse the online gallery
Nature’s Best Photography International Awards
Better known in the USA than in the UK, this competition is hosted by the US nonprofit organisation Nature’s Best Photography and attracts some wonderful wildlife photography from around the world.
Keep a look out for the announcement of this year’s winning images, due in late September, and check out the galleries.
Underwater Photographer of the Year
I am especially in awe of successful wildlife pictures taken under water – an extra layer of skill is invariably needed even to encounter your subjects, let alone capture winning images of them.
The Underwater Photographer of the Year awards usually take place in February, but a free outdoor exhibition is running now until 6 October, celebrating 10 years of the competition.
Hosted by the Crown Estate in partnership with the competition, the exhibition brings together a selection of previously awarded images taken in British waters. See it on Glasshouse Street, off Piccadilly Circus, London, and Fosse Park, Leicester.
You can view all the 2024 winners in the online gallery
Finally, a couple of books that I am looking forward to getting my hands on this month:
I’ll post a proper review of this soon, but suffice to say, it is fascinating and beautiful, charting the evolution of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition – and the genre of nature photography – over the past six decades, illustrated by 230 of the most memorable images. On sale now at the Natural History Museum.
The highly acclaimed series of charity books that began with Remembering Elephants is launching its ninth publication Remembering Tigers this October. These species-themed photography books are designed to raise awareness and funds for conservation and are made possible by the donation of images by many of the world’s best wildlife photographers.
You can pre-order a copy of Remembering Tigers and get tickets (both in-person and virtual) for the launch at London’s Royal Geographical Society on 9 October from Remembering Wildlife
I hope you find great inspiration in nature and nature photography this coming month. Next week, I’ll be writing about some of my own recent photography.