Projected Image League

For commentary on the whole competition please visit our Highlight page the winning images are shown below.

1st Place - David Wilkinson with Lions of Botswana, Otters, and Puppy Love.

Lions of Botswana
Photographed in the summer of last year in Botswana it was my first opportunity to be very close to this apex predator. I was very surprised how emotional I felt at this time, I had initially thought going on safari might be underwhelming however those thoughts disappeared when I first made eye contact with these magnificent animals. The light in Africa is very different to here, making this tour and photography a wonderful experience.

Otters
What a treat to spend time with these amazing animals. All happened in a very wet week on the Isle of Mull last November. They are difficult to photograph as they are very wary of humans however with time and patience on my side and being close enough without upsetting or stopping them going about their daily routines. I have tried to portray them showing behavioural aspects where possible as I find this type of image to be informative and engaging.

Puppy Love
Mayhem on legs would be the best way to describe our little puppy, images taken between the age of three to five months. She is a well travelled puppy, images taken in Wiltshire, Cornwall and the lake District. Currently too crazy to train, we are hoping time will be a great asset for her training program.

2nd Robert Harvey with Life of the Brown Hare, Devon’s Heartland Coast and Dragons.

3rd Simon Knight with Living in the Grass, Woodland Birds and Wasp spiders.

Living in the Grass
Macro is probably my favourite genre of photography and I love nothing more than searching for insects to photograph during the summer months. It's always challenging to capture images of insects that live in the grass with clean backgrounds, and that's one of the goals I always set for myself. To help achieve this, all of these images were focus-stacked, which lets me use a wide aperture to keep the background clean, yet still be able to get all of the insect in focus.

Woodland Birds
All of these shots were taken from a hide. I am especially proud of the long-tailed tit, woodpecker and blue tit as they were captured from my own hide set-up and are the result of feeding the birds for over a year, hours of watching behaviour and many variations in set-up before I achieved results that I was truly happy with.

Wasp Spiders
I first discovered wasp spiders during lockdown and have been fascinated by them ever since. They can be quite tricky to photograph as they are usually low in the grass, which can make it very difficult to get close to them, or even get line of sight to them. These are again all focus-stacked as it's the only way to get the spider in focus, whilst keeping the grass behind from becoming a distraction.

HC Gerald Clark with Baby Elephants, Lion Cubs and Hares

Baby Elephants
This panel of baby elephants came together from a stay just outside the Chobe national park in Botswana. Due to wars in neighbouring countries, Botswana has become a relatively safe haven for elephants. We were shocked to see anything up to 500 elephants come down to the river most afternoons, thinking of the pressure that puts on grazing. Some of the youngest were only a week old, but the family bond was plain to see, and the sense of fun in having a mud bath was also apparent. What a spectacle!

Lion Cubs
This panel of lion cubs was put together from a trip to Namibia eighteen months ago. We stayed at the Onguma concession just outside the Etosha national park. These cubs, of slightly different ages, spent their days feeding, playing and sleeping. Whenever there is a change of the dominant male in a pride, all the cubs belonging to the previous male are killed. So these cubs first months are fraught with dangers.

Hares
My panel of hares came about from walking the Marlborough Downs. These images were either taken at sunrise or sunset, and mostly in the Spring. While being nomadic, hares do seem to patrol their own areas regularly, chasing off unwanted competition. The central image is a hare leaping over the oil seed rape to escape another in hot persuit. Their near 360 degree vision and acute hearing, mean they are difficult animals to creep up on, making the photography that much more satisfying.

DPC Comp 05 - Projected Image League
Held on 2nd January 2024
Judged by: Members
Results for the Beginner Section
1st	Lions of Botswana, Otters, Puppy Love	by	David Wilkinson	Adv
2nd	Life of a Brown Hare, Devon's Hartland Coast, Dragons	by	Robert Harvey	Adv
3rd	Living in the Grass, Woodland Birds, Wasp Spiders	by	Simon Knight	Int
Highly Commended
	Baby Elephants, Cubs, Hares	by	Gerald Clarke	Beg