“Glanzlichter der Naturfotografie 2023” at the Museum Koenig Bonn
The Fritz Pölking Award went to the Italian Gianni Maitan for his picture “Durchblick”. It shows elephants at a waterhole in Tsavo West National Park in Kenya. The picture was taken with a camera mounted on a small remote-controlled cart. © Gianni Maitan, Glanzlichter 2023
Impressive, touching, artistically surprising: The 80 best “Glanzlichter der Naturfotografie” will be on display at Museum Koenig Bonn from September 21. Almost 20,000 images from 33 countries competed in this 25th year of the renowned international photography competition.
“For many years, the Glanzlichter photo competition has presented us with the most beautiful and valuable depictions of our natural world. With their works, they show us what we would lose if humanity continues to consume and economize as it has in the past, damaging and destroying nature forever,” emphasizes patron Steffi Lemke, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection.
Thomas Gerken, Head of Exhibition Museum Koenig Bonn: “The photographs impressively show the beauty and fragility of nature. Our nature. And they touch us through their aesthetics. A very own value of nature, which must be preserved and for which it is worthwhile to engage.”
The winner was American photographer Mark Chen with his extremely reduced black-and-white image “The Sentry,” a bare tree on the north coast of Florida. For the jury, the power of this image lies in its ability to refer beyond the representational and to use symbolism to ask about the message.
The 17-year-old Anton Trexler from Germany can call himself “Glanzlichter-Nachwuchs-Naturfotograf 2023” with the picture “Morgengesang”. With the dawning day behind him and the night in front of the camera, this mystical photo of a blackbird was taken.
The Fritz Pölking Award went to the Italian Gianni Maitan for his picture “Durchblick”. It shows elephants at a waterhole in Tsavo West National Park in Kenya. The picture was taken with a camera mounted on a small remote-controlled cart.
Together with the projekt natur & fotografie, Museum Koenig Bonn invites visitors to view the outstanding photographic works that reflect the beauty of nature and at the same time its endangerment in many different facets. The traveling exhibition shows the 80 winning images of the categories “Wonderful Wilderness”, “Beauty of Plants”, “Nature as an Art Form”, “Winged Artists”, “World of Mammals”, “Diversity of All Other Animals”, “Moments of Nature” and “Aerial Views of Nature”.
This year’s jury consisted of nature photographer Gisela Pölking, Willi Rolfes and Uwe Wuller, nature photographers and organizers, and nature photo contest organizer and nature photographer Mara Fuhrmann.
The traveling exhibition will be on display at Museum Koenig Bonn until 7/1/2014. It will travel through Germany and Italy for three years and will be presented at 25 locations each year.
Contact:
Museum Koenig Bonn
Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change
Dr. Thomas Gerken
Head of Department Exhibitions
Tel: +49 228 9122 226
E-mail: t.gerken@leibniz-lib.de
