Josiah awarded in 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

We are so excited to share that Josiah has had two images awarded in the oldest and most prestigious wildlife photography competitions in the world, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition put on by the Natural History Museum (U.K.) and BBC Wildlife.

This year’s competition saw over 42,000 images submitted from 96 countries, and the competition in the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year categories has never been stronger. This is Josiah’s second year entering the competition, and he has had multiple images selected for the final round both times, but we were certainly not expecting him to end up with two of the top 100 images!

Both of Josiah’s winning images were taken this year (2015), a testament to the growth he is showing in his photography.

His “Goose Attack” image was taken in Burnaby, British Columbia while out with fellow award-winner Connor Stefanison (2013 and 2015 Rising Star Portfolio Award winner). The image also reveals Josiah’s attentiveness when out in nature, as only Josiah spotted this territorial interaction across the bay while John, Jenaya and Connor were busy photographing wood ducks!

“Goose Attack” is one of Josiah’s favourite images of his young career, capturing an aggressive goose exploding from the shallows to defend its territory. You can learn the story behind this award-winning image and discover how to purchase it as a Limited Edition Print here. 

Snowy Snowy, the second awarded image, was definitely the result of a determination to return with a unique image of a snowy owl. John, Jenaya and Josiah endured an all-day prairie snowstorm while searching for snowy owls in early January. They finally spotted a few at the very end of the day, but once again only Josiah found and photographed this handsome male owl perched on a weather-beaten old fence. The image has also been awarded in the global conservation photography competition, Por el Planeta.

“Snowy Snowy” is an atmospheric image showing a beautiful male snowy owl surveying the surrounding fields for movement in the midst of a brutal prairie snowstorm. You can learn the story behind this award-winning image and discover how to purchase it as a Limited Edition Print here.

While Josiah was not able to attend the awards ceremony in London, our friend and fellow-awarded wildlife photographer, Morkel Erasmus, sent Josiah this picture of Morkel in front of Josiah’s winning images.

Professional wildlife photographer Morkel Erasmus, who has the cover image of the 2015 WPY Portfolio book, shows Josiah Launstein his two awarded images on exhibit in the Natural History Museum in London, U.K.

“Goose Attack” and “Snowy Snowy” are now on exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London, U.K., and will be featured in top museums in more than 70 countries around the world! The exhibit opened in the Royal Ontario Museum and Royal BC Museum in November.

Please click the accompanying images to learn more about “Goose Attack” and “Snowy Snowy,” both of which are now available as Fine Art Limited Edition Prints.

You can view the 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPY51) awarded images here (click on “Young Awards” at the top right of the page to view Josiah’s images along with other awarded photographers under age 18). Be sure to look for our friend Ashleigh Scully’s awarded fox family picture as well!