Bence Mate Wins British Wildlife Photography Gong

London, October 22 (MTI) – Hungarian nature photographer Bence Mate has won the 2014 Wildlife Photographer of the Year, organised by BBC Wildlife Magazine and the Natural History Museum, in the birds category, Mate’s representative told MTI late on Tuesday.

Describing the complex shot “herons in time and space”, the competition’s website noted that Mate was overlooking Lake Csaj in Kiskunsag National Park.

“His subject was the shy grey heron. To overcome the various technological challenges of a night-time shot, he had built two timing devices for his camera to execute the single exposure.”

“The surface of the lake was still, reflecting the stars, and the sky was clear and motionless. Just after midnight, the seven stars of the Plough … slid into position above the glow of a distant town. Bence took the shot, with both the stars and herons sharp, but with traces of the birds’ movement leaving ghostly impressions against the sky.”

Mate, 50, is the first Hungarian to have won in this category. His representative told MTI that Mate had felt that his collection had not been “terribly strong” this year and he had initially decided to skip the competition. But at the last moment he sent in a single photograph because he did not want to leave out his jubilee competition. “I would have been delighted had I just been put among the exhibited pictures,” he said in a statement.

The award ceremony was attended by the competition’s patron, Catherine, Dutchess of Cambridge.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/BenceMatesPhotography

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters