Hungarian photographer awarded at International Earth and Sky Photo Contest – VIDEO

Hungarian wildlife photographer Bence Máté’s photograph was selected as one of the honourable mention photos at the 7^th International Earth and Sky Photo Contest, hosted by the photographer organisation The World At Night (TWAN), ng.hu reports.

The contest awards photographs which “highlight the beauties of the night sky and its battle with light pollution”. Photographers from 57 countries submitted their works, and the winners were chosen by a jury of 9 comprising of renowned photographers, writers, and scientists. According to astronomer David Malin, and Babak Tafreshi, founder of TWAN, the jury awarded aesthetic qualities as well as technical excellence, and the competition encouraged photographers to test the limits of modern technology.

One of the photos which received an honourable mention at the contest is Bence Máté’s photograph of a group of African buffalo in front of the night sky.

“The photo of African buffaloes drinking at night under the stars was taken in South Africa. I used a Nikon D800 with a Sigma 15mm lens. I adjusted the focus during exposure so that both the buffalo’s eyes and the stars were in focus in the final photo,” said Bence Máté.

Bence Máté is a wildlife photographer who pioneered the one-way glass photography technique, now used by many hide-based photographers around the world. In 2010, his photograph Marvel of Ants won the grand title of BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, making him the only photographer in the world to have won the grand titles in both the young and the adult categories of the competition. (Wikipedia)

You can find more of his work on Facebook.

The first prize of the contest in Beauty of the Night Sky category was awarded to Chinese photographer Stephanie Ye, while the winner of the Against the Light category and the overall contest winner is Norway-based Romanian photographer Alex Conu. Check out this compilation video of the best photos of the contest: