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By Jackie Downey
17 July 2019
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards celebrates the funniest moments from the animal kingdom and attracts some of the world’s most talented photographers. And across July and August, the winning entrants from the 2018 competition will be displayed at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) in an exhibition in Perth.
The exhibition, which can be viewed by donation to the RSGS, features yoga bears, tangoing ghekos and flying hyenas as well as images with titles such as ‘Crouching Tiger Peaking Moose’ and ‘Should Have Gone to Specsavers’ – you really don’t want to miss them!
But in spite of its comical outlook, there’s a serious message behind the competition –conservation. The directors of the Awards, Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam, believe that the competition will encourage a positive and upbeat dialogue about nature and wild places in everyday spaces – at the office, at home and at the pub. And by enjoying these images, people might be more inclined to do more to preserve these precious assets for future generations.
As Paul said, “The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards – ingeniously titled to avoid any confusion – was the result of two factors: a need for a light-hearted photography competition and a way to bring about conservation through competition.”
Judging the competition, which is now in its 4th year, are world-renowned photographers such as Will Burrard-Lucas – who recently contributed to the Society’s The Geographer magazine – as well as famous faces such as naturalist Kate Humble and comedian Hugh Dennis.
Commenting on the exhibition, Chief Executive of RSGS Mike Robinson said:
“I hope this exhibition entertains our visitors – young and old – and inspires them to think more carefully about how we can all help preserve the wonder, beauty and positivity of the natural world for future generations.
“The images are charming and funny – each of them scream out for a caption competition.”
The exhibition, which can be viewed at The Fair Maid's House Visitor Centre by donation to RSGS is open through all of July and August, Mon - Fri, 13:00 to 16:30.