It has been a stunning start to the 2020 Art of Birding Wildlife & Nature Photography Challenges with hundreds of people from all around the world joining the weekly challenges to showcase and advocate for the wildlife and the wild spaces they love. Here are our favourites from the January challenges, chosen for their interpretation, creativity, and the way they made our hearts sing. If you're interested in joining us, just jump on in - these challenges are a journey, not a destination so there is no requirement to complete them all.
Week 1: Where I Stand
To start things off, everyone posted about where they felt most connected to the Earth. From parched Australian farms, to snowbound Canadian forests, to lush New Zealand bush, there was a wonderful showcase of special spaces.
The image that stood out to us was by Helen Carpenter (New South Wales, Australia). Helen is a farmer in a drought-stricken rural area constantly besieged by dust storms. She has been working hard on a conceptual photography project about the drought, diversity, resilience, and beauty of life on her farm. This colour photo takes on an old-world sepia-toned feel due to the dust storm.
A number of people also did the extra credit challenge and started a blog - do take a look:
Carol Jardine: Wet Shoes Wet Feet
Loralee Hyde: Our Glorious Wildlife