Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer

[graham_thompson1]

<p><strong>A picture of a hunting wolf has won the prestigious Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 award.</strong><br>

Jose Luis Rodriguez captured the imaginations of the judges with a picture that he had planned for years, and even sketched out on a piece of paper.<br>

"I wanted to capture a photo in which you would see a wolf in an act of hunting - or predation - but without blood," he told BBC News. "I didn't want a cruel image."<br>

With a great deal of patience and careful observation of the wolves' movements, he succeeded in taking the award-winning photograph.<br>

And if you want to see them.<br>

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8318226.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8318226.stm</a><br>

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[mike l]

<p>Although a great deal of skill, care and patience was obviously require to take the shot, it doesn't do anything for me, the reason? The use flash has resulted in an image that looks contrived.</p>

[tasos_sotirakis]

<p>He made a shot that nobody else did. After the fact it is easy to point out that, since he knew the place and the time, he could very well have a whole load of strobes set up to achieve anything from a natural to a tottaly outlandish look. He might do it in the future or not, but this is still a great documentary photo.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Contrived, Michael? My first impression was "Nifty, this must have demanded a lot of careful planning."</p>

<p>Not every photograph has to be a candid snapshot. Even tho' that's mostly what I do, I appreciate the folks whose style demands a more deliberate, painstaking approach.</p>

<p>Perhaps I'm biased because I'm not allergic to flash. I grew up admiring Weegee's in-your-face direct flash, so that style still appeals to me.</p>

[mark_drutz]

<p>This shot could only have been taken with flash unless there's a camera with ISO 100,000...low noise of course.</p>