A lens on nature

Exposure – ZooBot's annual photography competition – has delivered yet another crop of beautiful images highlighting the biodiversity of southern Africa. The winners will be announced at a special prize-giving event on 16 October 2015 which is open to the public.

The winners of the 2015 Exposure exhibition are to be announced on 16 October at an event that will also feature a talk by Professor Timm Hoffman from the Plant Conservation Unit on the value of photography in conservation.

Now in its fifth year, Exposure is organised by Zoobots (UCT's biological society) to afford keen amateur photographers at UCT a chance to showcase their work.

The competition also seeks to highlight the very real conservation issues facing southern Africa's wildlife and how photography can be used as a tool to address these.

Wine and snacks will be served at the opening on 16 October 2015 at 7pm in the New Engineering Building's Foyer. Anyone is welcome to attend the event. Tickets cost R80.

The following images are all finalists in their respective categories.

Category: Macro (Larger than life)

Hidden hunter by Mayur Prag. Category: Macro (Larger than life).

“Knysna dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion damaranum) are relatively rare, being restricted to the forests around Knysna and Tsitsikamma. As with all chameleons, they resemble their environment very closely. This one was very well camouflaged against the tree it was on, waiting for an insect to land near it so that it could catch it with its tongue.”

Category: Action (Caught in the act)

Fighting African buffalo by Grea Groenewald. Category: Action (Caught in the act).

“These two buffalo (Syncerus caffer) were fighting by locking horns and bumping their heads together, but then their horns morphed into a heart shape.”

Category: Conceptual (Paradise lost)

My idea of paradise by Tavis Dalton. Category: Conceptual (Paradise lost).

“If we are to lose these beasts, like so many other species, I feel part of my ideal paradise would be lost.”

Category: Conceptual (Paradise lost)

Solo flight by Ashleigh Arton. Category: Conceptual (Paradise lost).

A GoPro Hero2 camera was used to photograph this green turtle floating overhead at Baron Reef in Sodwana Bay.

Category: Landscape (Above all shadows rides the sun)

Daybreak by Darren Sean Ho. Category: Landscape (Above all shadows rides the sun).

“A single photo can't describe the goose bumps you get when you see the sun peak out over the majestic Victoria Falls, You have to be there to fully immerse yourself in the experience where the first light of day illuminates the sky and everything around you.”

Category: Macro (Larger than life)

An intelligent surveyor by Duncan Robertson. Category: Macro (Larger than life).

“Jumping spiders are one of my favourite subjects because they are particularly anthropomorphic. They have an intelligent glint in their eyes; studies have found that this impression has some basis in that they are considerably cunning.”

Category: Plants (Flower power)

The climber by Murray Christian. Category: Plants (Flower power).

“Asparagus scandens is a beautiful climber that is common in the forests around Kirstenbosch. One often sees them entwined about a small sapling, but it was the delicate balance of form and glowing white flowers in the dark undergrowth, that caught my attention this time.”

Category: Wildlife (Eat, prey, love)

Silent cry by Robert Raw. Category: Wildlife (Eat, prey, love).

With needle-like teeth and ultrasonic echolocation calls, Geoffroy's horseshoe bat is a master hunter. This one was photographed at De Hoop Nature Reserve.

Images supplied.