This year, Stéphanie was invited to serve as a judge for the Montier-en-Der International Photography Competition. This year, 1,800 photographers submitted 18,324 photographs. After an initial remote preselection, 2,891 photographs remained in the running. They were projected and examined one by one by the five judges, all specialists in nature photography and completely independent of the contest’s organizers.
The jury is chaired by Maxime Briola, a nature photographer. He readily describes himself as the photographer of “nasty creatures” animals that are often unloved, particularly snakes. Joining him are four prominent figures from the world of wildlife photography. Stéphanie Allemand specializes in birds, wild landscapes, and nocturnal birds of prey. Xavier Delorme is a leading French photographer specializing in storms and extreme weather phenomena. Antoine Lavorel, a Swiss nature photographer, is passionate about local wildlife. Priscila Telmon is the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Terre Sauvage.”
The contest is divided into ten categories, including wild birds, mammals, natural landscapes of the world, and “graphics, forms, and materials of nature.” The bird category remains by far the most well-represented.
For the adult awards, several rounds of selection were necessary: 119 photographs were gradually narrowed down to eight finalists before the prizes were awarded. In some cases, up to four rounds were needed to decide between the images.
The public will be able to see the winners and a wide selection of the award-winning photographs at the upcoming Montier-en-Der International Wildlife and Nature Photography Festival, November 19 to 22, in the abbey church.
