22 mesmerizing nature photos named Best Jury of the 2020 International Landscape Photography Competition

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Every year, not only the number of participants increases, but the level of work also grows. Range and enchanting variety of objects, beautiful locations and shooting styles. It is not the first year that the competition has raised very important global world problems. In particular, climate change and human impact on the Earth. This year's landscape photography competition International Landscape Photographer of the Year photographers from all over the world took part with almost four thousand works. The most impressive snapshots of our Mother Nature from the 2020 winners, further in the review.

So, should landscape photography highlight the global challenges ahead if we don't change our way of life? Or is it just an opportunity to create a flawless landscape? Fortunately, there is no single answer to this and similar questions. Plus, every photographer has the right to go his own way. All we are looking for is not just an attractive image, but work that has a deep meaning in it gets more attention.

The International Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020 awards amaze with the sheer number of incredible landscapes from photographers around the world. The competition is split into two main awards: Best Landscape Photography and the title of International Landscape Photographer of the Year. The latter requires a set of four stunning images. This title is the main prize, confirming the additional skills and artistry required to create a portfolio of landscape photographs.

The winning images of the 2020 International Landscape Photographer competition have finally been announced. The images are striking in beauty and variety - from lush green forests to dramatic starry skies. This competition, which is taking place in Sydney, Australia, has received over 3,800 entries from professional photographers.

There can only be one winner in the Photographer of the Year category. This year, it was a 24-year-old artist from Hong Kong, Calvin Yuen.

The "Photo of the Year" prize, which is awarded for one image, went to German photographer Kai Hornung. Kai really impressed the judges with his mesmerizing aerial view of a stream in Iceland's highlands. In addition to the winners who won prizes in the competition, there are many stunningly beautiful landscapes from which it is impossible to take your eyes off! Here are just a few of them.

Calvin Yuen said: “I am 24 years old. I have been photographing for six years since borrowing a cousin's camera for a day hike in Lion Rock Peak. There was no particular reason to go as Lion Rock Peak is just a mountain in my backyard and I've never been there. This was my first time above the clouds and the view from the top really inspired me. I just fell in love with nature, with this pristine beauty."

“For someone like me who grew up in a big city (Hong Kong), this walk opened up a whole new world for me,” Kelvin continued. “Since then, I have spent most of my free time in the mountains exploring and photographing the breathtaking views. And after graduating from university in 2018, I was able to travel the world and became a full-time professional landscape photographer."

For his landscape photographs, Kelvin uses a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera. “It can handle harsh shooting conditions such as extremely cold temperatures and heavy rain,” explained the photographer. “Most of my wide-angle images were shot with the Laowa 12mm f2.8 lens and I love the distorted perspective it creates. I also use the Sigma 14mm f1.8 for night photography, plus there is a Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 and a Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 that meet most of my needs. I find the image stabilization of both lenses provides a lot of flexibility when shooting in situations where tripod setup is difficult.”

Kelvin also revealed that over the years he has developed his own personal post-production workflow to manage color and create atmosphere.

“I use Adobe Camera Raw to tweak the basic aspects of my file such as tone and color. Then, after this rough adjustment, I drag the photo into Adobe Photoshop to manipulate the details. I always use dodge and light to highlight the foreground or main subject to enhance the appeal of what I want to represent in the photo. Also, vertical panoramas are one of my favorite techniques as some perspectives cannot be captured with a single shot."

“What I love the most about landscape photography is that it gives me the opportunity to understand myself,” said the winner of the 2020 competition. “When working outdoors, I have to deal with many uncertain conditions - for example, shooting awake, shooting during a storm, driving off-road and even dealing with a stuck car! These challenges improved my problem-solving skills and enabled me to reach a level that I never dreamed of in my life."

“In terms of photography contests, the International Landscape Photographer of the Year award has been my main goal for the past four years,” said Kelvin. “I have studied the work of past winners and I believe this competition represents the highest standard of landscape photography in the world. It matches what I am doing. I also want to know how my work is judged according to the high standards of the jury."

Kai Hornung, winner of the International Landscape Photography of the Year nomination, is a German landscape photographer. He is the one who managed to turn his passion for photography into a part-time job as a freelance photographer and artist. “However, I make a living as a human resources consultant in the financial industry, so I consider myself a semi-professional photographer,” said Kai.

“In 2016 I was on a business trip to Ireland. It was there that I fell in love with photographing landscapes. Until then, I had only used the camera occasionally to document family life and travel. Since then I have traveled extensively in Europe. I try to capture all the beauty of nature and form my artistic vision,”explained the German photographer.

“Landscape photography combines the beauty of nature and the joy of creativity. And that is vital to me. Since adolescence I have been composing lyrics and songs, singing in rock bands. Over the past four years, landscape photography has become my main work. It gives me a chance to slow down, get away from the sometimes hectic everyday life. For this I am incredibly grateful to this hobby."

“Over the past few years, I have begun to shift my focus from grandiose and dramatic perspectives to more intimate and sometimes abstract scenes. It is there that I feel that I can express more of my own, personal expression. I am very pleased to have images that are truly my own, images that I have discovered (or that have found me), and not just a point-and-click process at known places,”explained Kai Hornung.

“I participate in photography contests here and there, always with mixed feelings, because I don't think art is meant to compete with each other. On the other hand, there is another side of me that is curious to see how my images are perceived by other people. And the fact that I received an award in one of the most prestigious competitions in the world is a huge achievement. For any photographer, and even more so for me. In the professional photography community, this landscape photography competition is the most important photography competition in the world. Unlike any other, he celebrates artistic and visual prowess combined with a love of nature. If you look at the winners of the past and those images that made it into the prestigious Top-101 book, then I am absolutely delighted."

Looking at these incredible images, you understand that the most brilliant artist is Mother Nature, created by our Creator. Read our article gentle savannah giants and other spectacular wildlife shots from # Wild2020 winners.