IPF Nature Photographer of the Year 2016

The finals of the IPF Nature Photographer of the Year Competition 2015/2016 took place on Sunday February 21st at the Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny. We were delighted to welcome back Mahers Photographic as competition sponsors and enjoyed a packed audience for the competition.

We are delighted to announce the overall winner of the 2015/2016 competition as Neil O’Reilly from Tallaght Photographic Society for his image ‘White Tailed Eagles’. Congratulations Neil!

Speaking about the event, Michael O’Sullivan FIPF FRPS, IPF President said:

“This year’s Nature POTY was one of our most successful ever. I was delighted to see a record attendance at the public judging,which speaks volumes about the appetite in Ireland for this type of photography. The Technical skill and knowledge of subject matter apparent in the imagery on display was amazing, and the winners must be congratulated for achieving such stellar standards. The Overall Winning Image, “White Tailed Eagles” is a fantastic example of Nature Photography, combining great technical skill with timing and vision to capture an image with narrative, impact and beauty.”

Neil O’Reilly tells us about his winning image:

“This picture was taken in rural central Poland. A crisp frost covered the round as I made my way to the hide at 5.30 am. Its important to enter the hide under the cover of darkness so as not to cause any disturbance. The birds had been feeding on a deer carcass for several days now….would they turn up today?

The crows and magpies were first to arrive. They fed greedily as they knew breakfast would not last long. All of a sudden in a flurry of wings they were gone, a dark menacing shadow passed overhead. An Eagle landed near the carcass, then another..and another. Soon they were squabbling to establish a “pecking order” and I was lucky enough to get a few shots.”

There are so many people to thank for helping to make this event such a success;

The judges – David Osborne and Paul Keene
IPF Competition Co-Ordinator John Cuddihy
Ground staff – Kilkenny Photographic Society members who were out in force
Techies Jason Town and Niamh Whitty
Staff at the Newpark Hotel
Pat Kavanagh for presentation photos
Jim McSweeney for his beautiful calligraphy skills on the certificates
Everyone who entered and attended

Our gratitude once again to our sponsors Mahers Photographic who provided a significant prize fund, from regional winners all the way up to the overall prize won by Neil.

We are delighted to share with you the winning images below and pictures from the awards ceremony.

Individual report cards sent to each competitor. Lists of all award winners can be downloaded below.

List of images retained (top 20 and tied per section) by IPF for potential use in international competition and the list of images from this competition which are credited as Irish qualifiers for those pursuing AFIAP distinctions (note, these are not Irish acceptances) are also available below.