I am excited to be on the panel of judges again this year for the Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the year. The Maasai Mara is one of, if not the, top wildlife destination in the world and where I have spent a great majority of my time over the past 17 years so this is a great honor!
I love getting together every month with such talented African wildlife photographers discussing our passion while we select the monthly top 5. We just finished the first round of judging and it is going to be a lot tougher this year. The amount of entries were way up for the first month of the year and the quality of images were already top notch! It is a great sign the world is open and photographers are traveling again!
Although the Mara is know for its big cat action our focus on judging based on the following:
- Creativity and a fresh perspective of everyday scenes photographed in refreshing ways
- Visual impact and emotional response
- Technical difficulty and execution- does the composition, lighting and background take the image to the next level
- While we still factor in action and the rarity of the sighting, they are less important to the above.
Here is last years winner by Preeti & Prashant Chacko
The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year competition raises funds for important boots on the ground conservation initiatives while promoting the Mara as a year-round, world-class wildlife destination. All entry fees are donated to conservation.
Each month we will select 5 finalists. The best entries each month are showcased on social media. The Photographer of the Year will be selected from fifty finalist.
The grand prize is $10,000.00 and an unforgettable all expenses-paid 5 night safari in the Maasai Mara. More exciting is the guide of the winner will also win an all-expenses paid trip outside of Kenya!! Having a great guide is critically important and it is great that they are also being recognized in this contest, which is and even bigger reason to enter!!
Good luck and hope to see you out in the Mara soon!!!
