The photograph that won the first prize in Masaimara Wildlife Photography Challenge 2019
Doha: An expat living in Qatar has won the first prize in a prestigious wildlife photography competition held in Kenya last month.
Masaimara Wildlife Photography Challenge 2019 saw over 22 wildlife photographers from around the world converging in Maasai Mara, Kenya for a week. They were taken daily for four days on the safari to get the best shots of the wild animals.
Shaji Panicker, who hails from Kerala, southern state of India, won two prizes in the competition. The fourth prize – a camera, which was donated to the wildlife conservatory - and the first prize.
“This is the first competition I ever took part in and I am very happy to bag the first prize. It was a tough contest as you don’t have the luxury of time to edit or process the photos. We were told to submit the photos immediately after the safari. It was a great experience as we were focused only on clicking those beautiful animals throughout the day. Patience was key as sometimes you had to wait for hours to get the right shot,” Shaji said of the experience.
Photograph of a short-eared owl clicked in Qatar
Shaji, an engineer by profession, has been documenting nature and animals through his camera lens for over a decade and his passion has taken him all around the world – from the jungles of Latin America to the urban jungles of Europe. He has also been photographing flora and fauna of Qatar.
The winning photograph was taken using a Canon 1DX combined with a 300mm f2.8 canon lens.
Photograph of a lion couple that won special jury mention in the competition
