wildlife photographer of the year

giant australian cuttlefish mating aggregation, award winning image by Scott Portelli

Australian National Maritime Museum

“I was recently asked to speak at the opening of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition being shown at the Australian Maritime Museum. They featured my award winning image and wrote a piece about my photography, you can see the full article here:

https://anmm.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/capturing-cuttlefish-and-other-photographic-wonders-with-scott-portelli/

“During the opening of our new exhibition Wildlife Photographer of the Year we had the opportunity to welcome a special guest: Scott Portelli, an Australian photographer living in Sydney has already travelled the world extensively and took pictures in some of the most remote destinations like The Arctic, Antarctica, Galapagos, etc. He spent hundreds of days in pursuit of different wildlife. Due to his experience, he is privileged to be up close and personal with many creatures. Scott has already won multiple awards, this year he got selected by Wildlife Photographer of the year and his picture can be seen in the exhibition.”

Giant Australian Cuttlefish aggregation, award-winning photo by Scott Portelli (recently displayed at the Australian Maritime Museum)

Here is my speech from the opening night.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year awarded image of giant cuttlefish plus a photo of Scott Portelli (photographer) and friends

Awarded at Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016

Last night was the highlight of my photographic career, being awarded in Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016, the most prestigious photography competition in the world, is an honour and a privilege to say the least. I truly am ecstatic to be recognized for my work and humbled to be among such talented photographers competing on the world stage. Definitely one of my proudest moments and an unforgettable night as we dined in the great hall of the Natural History Museum surrounded by impressive dinosaur skeletons, stunning architecture, as the top 100 award winning images chosen from over 50,000 images across 95 countries, were revealed to a room full of excited photographers.

The image, ‘Collective Courtship’ was captured while diving in South Australia. Here’s the summary from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year website: “Scott spent hours in the cold shallow waters capturing one of nature’s greatest events, the spawning of giant cuttlefish. In this aggregation, a line of suitors are poised in the background, waiting for a chance to mate with the female. Scott finally framed the ideal composition when the onlookers momentarily faced the same way.”

Male giant cuttlefish, like these, can grow up to one metre long. They flicker colourful patterns to mesmerise and attract females. Small males are sneaky. They mimic female posture and colouring, going unnoticed in the group, then mate with the females when the larger males look away.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 award winner Scott Portelli with his photo of giant cuttlefish aggregation underwater

 

Check out all the winning images at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year website