British wildlife photographer Tom Way has won the first Remembering Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, which is supported by Nikon. His winning image shows a mother giraffe and her calf, just a few hours old, in Kenya’s Mara North Conservancy.
What makes the award unusual is how it’s judged. The winner is voted for by the other wildlife photographers whose work appears alongside Tom’s in Remembering Giraffes, the latest book in the Remembering Wildlife conservation series.
Describing the moment, Tom says the calf was “no more than a few hours old” when he and his group found mother and infant in a thicket close to the plains. “We watched at a distance as the young giraffe suckled, still wobbly on its legs, before coming forwards towards us perfectly framed between the mother’s legs.”
He adds that a newborn giraffe is still around 6ft tall and grows about an inch a day, so it wouldn’t be long before it could no longer fit under its mother at all.
As the sponsor, Nikon has given Tom a Nikon Z8 full-frame mirrorless camera and a NIKKOR Z 180-600mm lens, together worth more than £5,500.
Remembering Giraffes is the 11th title in the series. It features more than 70 images, and all profits go to giraffe conservation projects. Around 40% of giraffes have disappeared from the wild in the last three decades. Since the first book, Remembering Elephants, in 2016, the series has raised more than £1.28m for 86 conservation projects in 36 countries, and 316 photographers have donated images.
Founder Margot Raggett MBE says being recognised by your peers “is one of the greatest accolades any photographer can receive”. Lucy Brice, Head of Marketing at Nikon Northern Europe, says Nikon is “honoured to be involved”.
We think peer voting is a nice twist. Plenty of competitions are judged by panels, but having the image chosen by photographers who know exactly how much patience and fieldcraft a shot like this takes gives it extra weight.
Remembering Wildlife award key details
- Winner: Tom Way (UK)
- Location: Mara North Conservancy, Kenya
- Prize: Nikon Z8 and NIKKOR Z 180-600mm, worth more than £5,500
- Book: Remembering Giraffes, 11th in the series, 70+ images
- Series total raised: more than £1.28m for 86 projects in 36 countries
Remembering Giraffes price and availability
Remembering Giraffes is on sale now from the Remembering Wildlife shop, with all profits going to giraffe conservation.
