Name: David Gibbon
Picture title: The Charge
Category: Black and White
Nationality: England, United Kingdom
Occupation: I am sem-professional so I run photography tours overseas but also I have a part-time job working for Royal Mail.
Technical information
Camera: Canon R5
Lens: Canon 500mm MK II F4 Lens
EXIF: ISO 3200, F9, 1/250
RUNNER-UP CATEGORY BLACK AND WHITE
David Gibbon | The Charge
Name: David Gibbon
Picture title: The Charge
Category: Black and White
Nationality: England, United Kingdom
Occupation: I am sem-professional so I run photography tours overseas but also I have a part-time job working for Royal Mail.
Technical information
Camera: Canon R5
Lens: Canon 500mm MK II F4 Lens
EXIF: ISO 3200, F9, 1/250
David Gibbon says:
In March 2022, after three years of planning, I went to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. I and four others traveled across this extreme environment to find and photograph Arctic Wolf, Musk Ox, and other arctic wildlife. We experienced cold well below -50 degrees but came home with images of Arctic Hares and little else. In March 2023 I tried again. On this trip, not only did we find Arctic Wolf but I also had this incredible experience with a herd of Musk Ox.
I lay flat on the ground, as the temperature dropped below -40, watching this herd charge but from quite a distance away. Knowing they could trample me to death, as some Musk Ox bulls can weigh up to 400kg each, it was a real test of nerve as they approached me at full speed. To make sure they did not know I was there I continued to stay lay flat to the ground. In order to capture the image I removed my down gloves and was just wearing very a thin glove base layer. At this point, my hands were so cold I could not physically use my camera finger to press the shutter so I was forced to take the image with my middle finger. As they got closer, I quickly stood up and, thankfully, the herd changed direction and ran past me. It all happened so quickly that I did not have time to check my shutter speed, which had dropped to just 1/250. But luckily this image – out of many images I had taken – was sharp.
David Gibbon
England
I bought my first camera in 2009 – a Canon 550D – and then began following the work of professional wildlife photographers. In 2017 I travelled to Iceland to research how to photograph Arctic Foxes on the Hornstrandir nature reserve. After making some great contacts In 2018 I began running my tours taking small groups of photographers to capture Iceland’s Arctic Fox in winter. In 2020, I was Highly Commended in NPOTY with an Arctic Fox image from Iceland. In 2021, I became friends with Australian polar photographer Joshua Holko. Together we created the first commercial trip to Ellesmere Island in winter – known as one of the most extreme and remote places on earth. I have now run two successful trips to Ellesmere Island and, going forward, I have just launched my own company called Wild Lens Nature Tours where I will be specializing in taking small groups to arctic locations.