SWAROVSKI OPTIK: “Love without barriers”: by Juan Manuel Benjumea (USA) is the title of the winning image of the “Digiscoper of the Year 2013” contest, organized by SWAROVSKI OPTIK. This photo was judged a winner by a panel of international birdwatching and digiscoping experts, photographers and members of the public.
The diversity and uniqueness of nature never ceases to fascinate and excite us. Digiscoping, a technique that consists of taking pictures through a telescope, offers the possibility of discovering and capturing various aspects of nature and, in particular, the biological diversity of our planet. SWAROVSKI OPTIK has been organizing the "Digiscoper of the Year" photo contest for eight years, inviting digiscoping enthusiasts from all over the world to share their best images with a large audience of connoisseurs and submit their works to the judgment of a jury of experts. .
Once again this competition has seen an increase in the number of entrants, underlining the growing popularity of digiscoping. Over 1600 images were received, which is about 15% more than those received in 2012 and a total of 510 new digiscopers registered to participate in the contest.
With the intention of including more subjects and scenarios in the competition, four categories were introduced for the first time this year: “Behavior and Action”, “Portrait”, “Mammals” and “Video”. The winning photo in each category was selected by a separate expert jury. The overall winner was chosen from among the winners of each of the four categories.
The overall winner of the “Digiscoper of the Year 2013” competition is Juan Manuel Benjumea from the United States, also winner of the “Behavior and Action” category. Juan Manuel earned the admiration of the expert jury and the public with his original photo of two different bird species: a female Swan Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and a male Clark's Swan Grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii) during the characteristic mating rite typical of this family. Hence the reason for the title "Love without barriers".
As winner of the competition, Juan Manuel Benjumea will receive a SWAROVSKI OPTIK digiscoping set including the new ATX / STX telescope (of his choice) with TLS-APO adapter, balanced base and tripod with head.
The winner of the “Portrait” category is the Spaniard Jorge de la Cruz Martin who surprised the jury with a photo of a black redstart (Monticola saxatilis). The sharpness of the image highlights in particular the minute details and the structure of the magnificent feathers. The color and composition of the image give the portrait a highly balanced appearance that helps to capture the viewer's attention.
Robert Wilson of the United States will surely be pleased to have won the "Mammals" category, earning the admiration of the jury with his portrait of a moose (Alces alces), entitled "One big boy!" (A great male!). Robert has indeed managed to portray this imposing, majestic and reserved king of the forest in an attitude of great naturalness.
The Belgian Frank Resseler is the winner of the new category "Video" and in his film, made with the technique of digiscoping, you can admire many different species of birds and insects. In this work, the jury particularly appreciated the composition of the video, where various birds and insects are filmed through interesting very close-up and slow-motion shots.
The three category winners will each be rewarded with SWAROVSKI OPTIK EL 32 binoculars.
Once again, the “Digiscoper of the Year 2013” award was awarded by combining the points of the international jury of experts with the votes of visitors who registered on the website www.digiscoperoftheyear.com. The selection criteria applied by the jury were the adherence to the theme of the competition, the aesthetic quality of the photographs and their sharpness. The best digiscoping works (15 photos and 5 videos) presented in each category were published by SWAROVSKI OPTIK on the website www.digiscoperoftheyear.com.
During the 4-month contest, visitors to the SWAROVSKI OPTIK Facebook page were able to choose their three favorite digiscoping photos and best video each month, and their authors were awarded a high-quality SWAROVSKI OPTIK sweatshirt.
SWAROVSKI OPTIK congratulates all the winners of the contest!