Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Various Artists
Natural History Museum, South Kensington
21 OCTOBER 2016 - 10 SEPTEMBER 2017
£15
Despite it being in its 52nd year, and having a strong love for both animals and photography, this is the first Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition I have attended.
There is one word which I can used to describe the exhibition, and that is simply: Wow. It was amazing. One of the best exhibitions I think I have ever been to, I left completely satisfied.
The exhibition itself is vast, there are well over 50 photos, all with stories and details to read alongside them. These describe the photographers relationship or distance to the wildlife pictured; I recall in particular a photo of a small pygmy owl looking distraught, who turns out had just lost it's mate, it was honestly heartbreaking (pictured above). There was another photo of a jellyfish in the ocean, the perspective making the jellyfish look almost like an island, completely dominating the sea around it. Despite this vision of power, it actually turns out that the jellyfish was dying due to a caught air pocket preventing it from diving - a clear example of how the context of the photograph can add so much.
Despite the number of photographs it does not feel at all overwhelming; dim lighting and a peaceful atmosphere surround the photos, meaning you can truly focus and absorb the photographs. If you're like me and like to read all the descriptions, locations and techy stuff then allow a good 2 hours to do this exhibition (and don't go with a hangover and not much breakfast like I did).
A great element of the exhibition is that it mostly consists of non-professional photographers, from all over the world. Each photo tells a story and each photo captures both the grandeur of the natural world and the individual characters of the animals pictured. From urban leopards to killer whales; the range was exceptional, along with the range of photographers too - some as young as 10 years old (pictured below)!
It appears I am not the only one raving about this exhibition, as it is a popular one. I went with my Dad and we had to que for a good half an hour to get into the Natural History Museum and by the time we reached the exhibition we were welcomed with a huge red 'SOLD OUT' sign. Luckily my father has his perks and he managed to blag us in with some lost ticket chat - meaning we also didn't have to pay the rather pricey £15 entry fee. The exhibition was very busy and you did have to wait a while in order to be able to read the descriptions of the images, however, we went at probably the peakest time possible, (Saturday, midday) if you can avoid this then do.
Despite not having to pay the entry fee (cheeky) and despite not usually liking to pay for exhibitions (as you've probably gathered from the amount of freebies on here), I thought that the exhibition was worth the whole £15 and more. I would happily have paid that and happily have left knowing that it was money well spent.
If there is one exhibition you HAVE to see this year - it is this one, and you have until September, DO NOT miss out!
OVERALL RATING: *****
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/wpy.html
