The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is one of the most popular, and undoubtedly the funniest, photography competitions in the calendar year, and Milko Marchetti's Stuck Squirrel takes this year's top prize.
This year's competition saw the highest number of entries in its ten-year history, with over 9000 entries by professionals and amateurs alike, each vying for the title of 'Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photographer of the Year'. The selection of images had to be whittled down to a mere 45 before reaching the judging panel to award the winners. Competition was fiercely competitive with only a few points between the top 5 places.
Marchetti's image, titled Stuck Squirrel, came out on top – awarded the highest number of points in total. The image depicts a Red Squirrel seemingly stuck 90º out of a hole in a tree with legs and tail outstretched to strengthen the effect and amusing nature.
Speaking on making the image Marchetti says, "I have taken many, many photographs of squirrels, in many situations over the years, but this one struck me as really funny and such a strange position, because it is that exact moment when the squirrel is detaching its back legs from the trunk to enter its hide (which was an old woodpecker’s nest in a hollow tree.) Whenever I show this image to people at various nature seminars I do at my local photography club, the audience always explode in raucous laughter, so I had to enter it!"
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Above: We take you along to the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards in our latest TikTok video
As the overall competition winner, Marchetti was awarded a once-in-a-lifetime safari in the Masai Mara, Kenya, a unique handmade trophy from the Wonder Workshop in Tanzania, and a Think Tank photography bag.
In addition to the top spot, 9 other category winners captured the hilarity of wildlife with highlights including Jose Miguel Gallego Molina who won the Insect Award for his fabulous image titled Mantis Flamenca, Eberhard Ehmke who took the top prize in the Reptile Category with his photo of a frog in a bubble, and Przemyslaw Jakubczyk won the Fish and other Aquatic Animals Category by capturing a Bald Eagle being chased across the sky by a Bream!
There were also special mentions to the younger generation of emerging wildlife photographers with the Nikon Young Photographer Award going to Kingston Tam from Australia with a close-up of a frog smiling at the camera. The Nikon Junior Category winner was Sarthak Ranganadhan who triumphed in the with his smooching owlets image. Flynn Thaitanunde-Lobb aged 10 from Southampton won the Portfolio Category with his collection of 4 images of a Rock Star Squirrel!
The grand prize winner along with the category winners were announced this evening at an awards night in London, UK which will be followed by a wonderfully whacky exhibition showcasing all the 2024 Award Finalists from December 11-15 at the Gallery@Oxo. Entry is free and provides a great opportunity to see these awesome shots in the flesh.
The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards never fails to amuse us here at Digital Camera World and this year has showcased some exceptional entries! Check out the full list of award winners and those highly commended on the official Comedy Wildlife Awards website.
