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Michel d'Oultremont's Image
Michel arrived at this wetland in the Netherlands just before dawn.
He knows the area so well that he can sort out his equipment and slip into his floating hide in complete darkness. ‘I love using the floating hide. It allows me to be so quiet – it’s an intense way to work’. Spotting a black-necked grebe paddling off to fish, oblivious to his presence, Michel kept the bird very small in the frame, partly to portray the sense of wilderness and partly because his composition was also about the layers of shape-shifting vegetation.
Behind the lens
Michel d'Oultremont
Belgium
Michel's passion for nature began as a child growing up in the beautiful surroundings of a small village in Belgium. He started taking pictures as a teenager. His photography is guided by the emotions that the natural world evokes in him. By photographing animals in their environment, he hopes to help raise awareness of the beauty of nature and the importance of conservation.
Image details
- Canon EOS 5D Mark III
- 500mm f4 lens
- 1/250 sec at f4 (+0.6 e/v) • ISO 2500
- Grenspark de Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide, The Netherlands
Copyright in WPY competition photographs remains the property of the respective photographers. You may not copy, share, reproduce or republish the photographs except as expressly permitted by copyright law. For media image usage enquiries, please contact us.
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