My Garden (Behind the Hedge)
My Camera Trap Caught Mostly Me
The year's best wildlife photo, a rare brown hyena, took about ten years and a camera trap. I gave my camera trap one night.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year prize went to a photo of a brown hyena, the rarest hyena, in an abandoned diamond-mining town in Namibia. A camera trap took it, after about ten years of trying. I set one up in my garden.
My Photos
Photo 1. My hand, setting up the camera. A strong hand. A good start.
Photo 2. A leaf. It moved, so it counts as wildlife.
Photo 3. A cat, staring right into the lens. It knew. Cats always know.
Photos 4 to 61. Me, checking that the camera was working. It was working beautifully.
Photo 62. Either a hedgehog or my shoe brush. I’ll let the judges decide.
My Entry
The winning photographer waited about ten years for that shot. I waited one night, which is around 3,650 times faster. That’s efficiency.
There were more than 60,000 entries this year, from 113 countries and territories, a record. Next year there will be one more. I’m sending photo 40: me, looking surprised by a moth. It has drama, nature and a tie. The moth was not available for comment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a camera trap?
A hidden camera that waits for animals, so you don't have to. Mine mostly waited for me.
Any hyenas?
No. Brown hyenas live in southern Africa, and my garden is not in southern Africa. I checked the map twice.