Photographers pondering of getting into photos for this 12 months’s Rewilding Europe Award nonetheless have time earlier than the March 1 deadline. For inspiration and steering, we discuss to celebrated conservation photographer Jen Guyton, who will co-judge this 12 months’s entries.
Jen Guyton
As a part of the annual European Wildlife Photographer of the 12 months competitors, which was launched in 2001 by the German Society for Nature Pictures, the Rewilding Europe Award celebrates among the greatest rewilding-related imagery from throughout Europe. The deadline for submissions this 12 months is March 1.
In 2025, the Rewilding Europe Award will likely be judged by ecologist and multi-award-winning photographer Jen Guyton, in addition to Peter Cairns, the founder and Head of Rewilding at Scottish Rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Large Image. At present primarily based within the metropolis of Charleston within the US state of South Carolina, Jen is a contributor to Nationwide Geographic journal, a Nationwide Geographic Explorer, and a fellow with the Worldwide League of Conservation Photographers. She has spent a lot of her profession in Africa, utilizing her digicam to inform inspiring tales, with a specific deal with Mozambique’s Gorongosa Nationwide Park.
Following our interview with Peter Cairns, we caught up with Jen to seek out out extra about her background, her ideas on rewilding and conservation images, and what she’ll be on the lookout for on this 12 months’s Rewilding Europe Award submissions.
Jennifer Guyton
What did it imply to see your {photograph} on the entrance of the world’s most well-known journal?
Seeing my {photograph} on the duvet of Nationwide Geographic was surreal. I’ve actually been dreaming about it since I used to be a child. It was additionally the primary time that hyenas have been on the duvet of the journal in its 137-year historical past. It was such a particular second as a result of hyenas are so misunderstood and maligned. To have the ability to showcase them in a method that highlights their softer facet – together with their matriarchal society, their intelligence, and their significance in nature – was an enormous honour. It additionally bolstered why I do that work: images has the facility to alter the way in which we see the world. To actually defend nature we have now to like and embrace all of it – not simply the cuddly charismatic creatures, but additionally the sophisticated ones, like hyenas.
You’re an instructional and a photographer. Why is it necessary to bridge the hole between science and artwork?
I believe science and artwork are two sides of the identical coin. Science provides us information, however artwork helps folks join with that information emotionally. You may publish all of the analysis papers on the planet, but when folks don’t really feel one thing, they’re much less prone to act on it. Pictures is a technique to translate complicated scientific concepts into one thing folks can see, really feel, and relate to, in a method that even transcends language obstacles. It makes conservation private.
Jennifer Guyton
How does the wildlife in Europe examine to different continents the place you’ve travelled? Are you optimistic that rewilding can improve European wildlife populations?
The wildlife present in Europe may be very completely different from Africa or South America, however there are some unimaginable species – lynx, wolves, bison – which can be making a comeback due to rewilding efforts. What’s thrilling about Europe is that regardless of its lengthy historical past of human growth, nature throughout the continent is proving it could possibly bounce again when given the prospect. Rewilding isn’t nearly bringing again misplaced species; it’s about restoring ecosystems, letting rivers stream freely once more, and giving wildlife area and freedom to maneuver. I completely imagine it could possibly make a distinction.
You’ve spent a big a part of your profession in Africa. Are you able to inform us about your most memorable African wildlife encounter?
Spending nights on the savannah photographing hyenas in infrared was each exhilarating and surreal. Within the pitch-black darkness, the infrared digicam revealed a hidden world – hyenas transferring like ghosts via the panorama, interacting, taking part in, and typically clashing in methods which can be practically invisible to the bare eye. One of the vital unforgettable moments was listening to a hyena whoop at shut vary – it’s this deep, haunting sound that cuts via the evening and travels for miles, and I’d by no means heard it that shut earlier than. Feeling that sound resonate in my chest, in the course of the wild, was a strong reminder of simply how alive the evening is. Hyenas are a lot greater than their repute suggests and capturing their secret lives in a brand new gentle was an unimaginable privilege.
Jennifer Guyton
You’ve mentioned that you’ve a ardour for “telling tales on the junction of worldwide environmental change and human tradition”. What does that imply and why is it necessary?
To me, conservation isn’t nearly animals or landscapes- it’s about folks, too. The way in which we work together with nature shapes our cultures, our economies, even our identities. On the flip facet, human actions can have a deeply adverse impression on the pure world – whether or not that be via local weather change, deforestation, or air pollution. I need to inform tales that spotlight these connections. If we will see how intertwined we’re with nature, perhaps we’ll take higher care of it.
Jennifer Guyton
Do you assume images generally is a pressure for good?
Completely. Pictures has the facility to alter hearts and minds. An excellent instance is once I documented the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique. Seeing the devastation first-hand was heartbreaking, however sharing these photos helped carry consideration to the catastrophe and mobilise assist. A single picture can spark empathy, motion, and even coverage change. That’s why I imagine visible storytelling is such a strong instrument in conservation.
What are you on the lookout for in Rewilding Europe Award entries?
I’m on the lookout for images that transcend aesthetics – photos that evoke emotion and inform a compelling story. Rewilding is about transformation and hope, so I’m actually trying ahead to seeing photos that seize that in a method or one other – whether or not it’s a beaver reshaping a wetland, bison returning to a panorama, or a second that reveals the deep connection between folks and nature. Emotion, originality, and powerful storytelling will assist images rise above the competitors.
Jen Guyton
What are you engaged on now?
I’m exploring concepts for my subsequent huge venture and taking a while for a artistic recharge. Within the meantime, I’m working as a director for the Naturaland Belief, which is a land belief primarily based in South Carolina. I’m serving to to launch a conservation programme centered on Carolina bays – distinctive and ecologically necessary wetlands that urgently want safety.
