The face of a gannet was covered with a green mask. A gale had blown the grasses it was weaving into a nest over its face. The gannet, also called a northern gannet or a tuna fishers' bird, is a seabird that nests at Bempton Cliffs on England's east coast from April to June each year. This is Britain's largest seabird habitat, visited by 500,000 birds annually.
Nikon Wildlife Photography Awards said on the 29th that a photo of a gannet taken at Bempton Cliffs by Alison Tuck of Britain, titled "Now which direction is my nest?," won the 2025 competition's popular award.
Nikon Wildlife Photography Awards had already announced the 2025 grand prize and each institutional sector award winners in December last year. At the time, Tuck also received an excellence award for her gannet photo. The popular award was selected separately from the other awards. The grand prize, institutional sector awards, and excellence awards were all chosen by the judges, but the popular award was selected in an online vote by the public early this year. Tuck's gannet photo beat 40 other finalists from last year's competition in that vote.
Tuck said, "Just making the finals was truly thrilling, and winning an excellence award was an honor, but receiving the popular award is a joy on another level," adding, "Thank you to everyone who voted for the gannet photo." As a prize, Tuck will receive a camera bag and a print of the winning work provided by Sturna Art, the popular award sponsor. Sturna Art edits and retouches pet photos and produces them as high-quality prints.
By winning the popular award, Tuck gained the opportunity to hold a photo exhibition in London at age 15. Tuck said, "Over the past few years, I looked at the winning works of the Funny Wildlife Photography Awards to see if I had something worth submitting," adding, "I was able to take the gannet photo because the wind was blowing very strongly at Bempton Cliffs." With the strong wind, the birds were pushed up toward the cliffs. Thanks to that, Tuck was able to capture close-up shots of them plucking grass to build their nests.
The Funny Wildlife Photography Awards began in 2015, started by photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam in Britain. While other photo contests award images that capture the majestic side of wildlife, this competition, as its name suggests, selects and honors photos that show wildlife in comical moments. The founders said they launched the awards to focus on the lighter side of wildlife and to raise awareness of endangered species through humor.
The awards also help wildlife conservation efforts. The organizers have donated a portion of the competition revenue each year to the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), a British wildlife conservation foundation that co-hosts the event. Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) has supported more than 220 conservationists in 80 countries over the past 30 years with £23 million (about 45.8 billion won).
The organizers said they are accepting photo and video submissions through June 30 this year. They emphasized that although Nikon, an optics-focused corporations, is a sponsor, anyone can participate for free regardless of what camera brand they use.
References
Nikon Wildlife Photography Awards, https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com/