Tin Man Lee

Tin Man Lee is an internationally well-known nature and wildlife photographer. He was born in Hong Kong and lives in the United States. Tin Man Lee teaches photographers to take sharp images, photos that inspire, and to speak out for wildlife who doesn’t have a voice. He believes animals have feelings. 

Currently, he has over 600 students. And his students have won awards such as WPOTY, NBP, Audubon, NANPA, Share The View, and numerous prestigious publications. 

The photos of Tin Man Lee have made covers in NANPA Expression, NBP, Wild Planet Photography Magazine, Smithsonian Calendar, and Alaska Magazine. His photos have also been featured in Nature’s Best, WPOTY, NANPA, Smithsonian Earth, Outdoor Photographer Magazine, Peta Pixel, and Nik Softwares. 

He’s the grand prize winner of Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International and also the winner of the wildlife category of that contest. In 2014, he held an invited solo exhibit of 48 photos at HKUST, Hong Kong for 5 months. His photos have also been displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC and G2 Gallery.

 Tin Man Lee is an experienced photographer and member of the jury of photo contests. Previously he was also an invited judge of Nature’s Best Photography Asia and Viewbug. We are pleased that Tin Man Lee will judge our Nature Photographer of the Year-contest (NPOTY).

Marco Gaiotti

Marco Gaiotti was born in Genoa in 1983. In 2007 he discovered the wild spaces of Southern Africa, and along with them the passion for nature photography that pursues him to explore year after year the wildest environments of our planet. In 2009 Marco spent a whole month in Alaska, camping and hiking alone in such magnificent wilderness. After this experience he decided to give a more professional target to its photography, which is put into effect on an expedition to Svalbard Islands in early autumn, just before the arctic night: following the expedition, its arctic images were published on international newspapers and journals worldwide. Marco Gaiotti currently self supports its photography projects working as associate professor of shipbuilding at the University of Genova.

International awards include the overall winner of the Memorial Maria Luisa in 2018, GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the year, Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice Awards, Oasis, Asferico, Montphoto, SONY WPA (shortlisted), Glanzlichter, Nature Photographer of the Year, Bio Photo Contest, Siena International Photo Awards, Global Arctic Awards and others…

Marco;

“To me, nature photography represents a strong interaction between wildlife and the surrounding environment. In my picture I like to include the habitat as much as possible, which becomes a fundamental element of the composition. For this reason, when a species can be approached safely for both the photographer and the animal, I like using wide angle lenses instead of long telephotos, in order to depict wildlife and its natural environment…”
https://500px.com/marcogaiotti

Tony Wu

Tony Wu’s lifelong association with the sea started when he was a child. A crab pinched his toe, and it was love at first ouch. Now that he’s (somewhat) a grown-up, Tony devotes most of his time to researching and documenting rarely seen marine animals and environments, spending more days at sea than he does on land. Tony owns more pairs of fins than he does shoes.

In recent years, Tony has devoted the bulk of his time to the challenging pursuits of photographing large cetaceans such as humpbacks, sperm whales, and blue whales, as well as documenting spawning aggregations, which are essentially orgies involving thousands of sex-crazed fish. His latest project is exploring the varied and diverse marine environments of Japan, which encompass everything from tropical to arctic environments, as well as many unique habitats in between.

Tony’s philosophy for observing and documenting nature is encapsulated in his motto ars gratia scientiae, which translates from Latin as art for the sake of knowledge. When not at sea, Tony invests much of his time reading books, articles, and scientific papers relevant to his chosen subjects. He records observations and shares information with researcher friends. Tony also writes about nature and engages in public speaking often (in English and Japanese), preferring when possible to invest time interacting with children.

Tony has received a number of prestigious awards, including Grand Prize in Japan’s largest underwater photography contest, the prize for Best Book of the Year at the Festival of Marine Images in Antibes, and first place in the Underwater and Behaviour: Mammals categories of the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest. 

He was for instance member of the jury of Big Picture, World Press, the Biographic, Ocean Art, Wetpixel, DEEP Indonesia, and Wildscreen. We are pleased that Tony Wu will judge our Nature Photographer of the Year contest (NPOTY).

https://www.tony-wu.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tonywu98/

Stefan Gerrits

Stefan Gerrits, born in one of the smallest towns you can find in the Netherlands, now lives and works in one of the largest metropolitan areas of Finland. He loves the days when steel and concrete are replaced by the wilderness of nature. Once back in that remote forest or grassland he channels his passion for nature photography.

His style of photography has been referred to as imaginative and minimalistic, whilst others have likened it to the Scandinavian designs or the Nordic way of living. For Stefan, it is important to respect nature and present the subject and surroundings in a manner of its simplest components; function over form. That is how he experiences nature and at the core of who he is. That should make a difference, in fact it makes all the difference.

International Awards include category winner of Outdoor Photographer of the Year (2014, 2018), Vuoden Luontokuva (2019) and highly commendeds of the Memorial Maria Luisa Photo Contest in 2018, Bird Photographer of the Year (2019), Nordic Nature Photo Contest (2017, 2019, 2020).

We are very pleased that Stefan Gerrits will judge our Nature Photographer of the Year contest (NPOTY).

www.stefangerrits.com/

Myriam Dupouy

Myriam Dupouy is a professional photographer who started her career as an English and Literature Teacher. However,  quite a few years ago, she decided to quit the comfort of the French Education Nationale to fully dedicate herself to photography. She wrote her first book Abracamera, an engaged and poetic ode to nature. She started as a TAMRON ambassador in 2013 and soon became a NIKON SCHOOL teacher and NIKON regular speaker. She also works as a teacher for the French Photography Federation, for Studio Jiminy (online masterclasses and live meetings), for Géo and many other partners.

Recently, a famous Editor asked her to write a book on dreams, nature and photography and this is how « Les secrets de la Photo de Nature Onirique » was born earlier this year (Editions Eyrolles).

On top of her artistic and personnal work as a nature photographer, she’s the Art Director of several clients who share the same love for arts, craftsmanship or charity. From culinary photography to High Jewelry art direction, Myriam’s touch sometimes escapes forests for a few happy clients. At the moment, she’s in charge of the Art Direction of a major French Charity engaged in fighting child cancer.

myriamdupouy.art

Karin Van Couwenberg

Karin Van Couwenberg is a passionate nature and wildlife photographer who tries to become a messenger with her camera and hopes to raise awareness.

Her parents taught her some of life’s greatest lessons: patience, observation, perseverance, honesty and hard work.

Karin is very fortunate that her photography is internationally recognized, having won awards in prestigious photo competitions such as Memorial María Luisa, Glanzlichter, IPA, Narava, Asferico and Nature’s Best Photography Africa. In 2015, her famous picture of “Two Cheetah killing a Wildebeest” appeared at the annual exhibition in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington. The Belgian Postal Service issued a series of stamps regarding “Endangered Wildlife” featuring her photos.

Who could have known that her first trip to Tanzania in 2002 would turn into a journey of a lifetime? Ever since, Africa has held a deep fascination for her.

What she enjoys most about wildlife photography is being in harmony with nature, spending time in remote areas, watching animal behavior and interaction, capturing special moments that create surprises and new understanding. On occasions she finds it hard to hold her camera steady as the connection with wild animals can be so intimate.

Karin loves a quote written by Sir David Attenborough: “We need individuals with fire in the belly to make the change in nature conservation.”

We are very pleased that Karin Van Couwenberg will judge our Nature Photographer of the Year-contest (NPOTY).

https://www.wildlife-photography.be/
https://www.instagram.com/karinvancouwenberg/
https://www.facebook.com/karin.vancouwenberg.1

Next to the jury, we have old jury members and other experts in different fields who help us determine if certain images could be made or when there is animal harassment.