Best Photo of ZooChat 2021: The Vote

Which photo do you think is the best?

  • Chinese desert cat (Felis bieti)

    Votes: 4 7.4%

  • Common kingfisher

    Votes: 19 35.2%

  • Phyllopteryx taeniolatus

    Votes: 7 13.0%

  • king cheetah

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Motion blur wildebeest

    Votes: 7 13.0%

  • California Condor

    Votes: 5 9.3%

  • Joanne the Sumatran Tiger

    Votes: 2 3.7%

  • Seychelles tiger chameleon

    Votes: 3 5.6%

  • javelina chase

    Votes: 2 3.7%

  • Wild Costa's Hummingbird

    Votes: 5 9.3%
  • Total voters
    54
  • Poll closed .
birdsandbats

birdsandbats

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
It's finally time to decide the best ZooChat photo of 2021. Here are our choices:

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"Chinese desert cat (Felis bieti)" by @YuanChang

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"Common kingfisher" by @Stefan Verhoeven

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"Phyllopteryx taeniolatus" by @Therabu

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"king cheetah" by @Arizona Docent

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"Motion blur wildebeest" by @Stefan Verhoeven

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"California Condor" by @Julio C Castro

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"Joanne the Sumatran Tiger" by @Julio C Castro

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"Seychelles tiger chameleon" by @Therabu

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"javelina chase" by @Arizona Docent

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"Wild Costa's Hummingbird" by @Julio C Castro

You only have one vote, so choose well. It's up to you what criteria (if any) you use to decide your vote. Voting will end in one week from now (January 19 2022).
 
Only 25 votes in total so far, which is disappointing considering the number of people who voted in previous annual 'Best Photo of ZooChat' polls...

2020: 34 voters
2019: 45 voters
2018: 43 voters
2017: 54 voters
 
Wow - some absolutely spectacular photos this year. For me it was an extremely tough call between four photos. Two were, admittedly, more than in part because of the subject matter (Chinese mountain cat and King cheetah respectively) while the other two, both by @Stefan Verhoeven were technically brilliant. While I found it tough to narrow it down, I found in the end that the photo that really embodied and evoked its subject to the fullest extent was the image of the wild Wildebeest captured by the aforementioned Zoochatter. Congrats to everyone nominated though, all the photos are incredible and more than worthy of the title.
 
Personally, I think it's a weak selection. The cheetah and mountain cat might be interesting subjects, but neither are particularly good photographs compared to so many others in the galleries. The Phyllopteryx taeniolatus is not something I'm familiar with and takes too much effort to see what it is; not a fault of the photograph, but my own ignorance. The wildesbeat, kingfisher and hummingbird are not zoo photos, so i'll disregard them. The four remaining subjects are very nice, but I can't decide which of those I like most.
 
Im torn between the kingfisher and hummingbird. Both are fast creatures and require a lot of patience and skills to capture.
 
As this is ZooChat, I voted for a photo that was taken in a zoo. And in the end I went for the condor. I am honoured that two of my very few posted 2021 photo's were nominated, between so many great photo's from other people. But I feel a bit sad as both my photo's are from wild animals and not zoo animals, never intended to let them compete for this honour.
 
I think it's interesting that two people now have said they do not like that wildlife photos have been included - I did not realize that some people thought that. Does anyone else share this opinion?
 
birdsandbats said:
I think it's interesting that two people now have said they do not like that wildlife photos have been included - I did not realize that some people thought that. Does anyone else share this opinion?
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Isn't it supposed to be the best photo posted on the Zoochat website in 2021? There are media sections for wildlife, so wildlife photos should be admissible imhi.
 
Newzooboy said:
Isn't it supposed to be the best photo posted on the Zoochat website in 2021? There are media sections for wildlife, so wildlife photos should be admissible imhi.
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That was my opinion as well, but if the "no wildlife photos" opinion is widespread I may consider changing it in future years.
 
I may be part of the minority but I support wildlife photos being part of the competition. As per the title, it’s for the “Best Photo of Zoochat”. I take it at face value. Many photographers contribute to Zoochats many galleries, both zoological and wildlife settings. We even discuss wildlife and conservation of said species in the forums as well. Unless the creator of the posting which I take is @birdsandbats, would want to have it changed, then it shall be. But I support the use of the best photos which many amazing photographers showcase often on here, wildlife settings included :)
 
birdsandbats said:
That was my opinion as well, but if the "no wildlife photos" opinion is widespread I may consider changing it in future years.
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I don't think it's widespread and doesn't need changing. I was simply responding to @amur leopard's post expressing his appreciation for all the photos.
I used to see loads of kingfisher photos like this one on dedicated photography forums (often from workshop settings) and agree with the general thought on those forums that wildlife photography and zoo photography are separate challenges. However, this forum is dedicated to zoos and wildlife, with the photography being a bonus.
 
I have some sympathy with Stefan's point. This is Zoochat, captive fauna is our core and it seems rather a shame that so many entries in this competition aren't taken in zoos or collections. It is, as said, 'Best photo on Zoochat' though, and that can't be changed retrospectively.

The wildlife photos are great, I hasten to add.

I get rather frustrated - maybe too strong a word - with the general standard of photography that is accepted in the gallery, with reams and reams of duplicates, repeats and poor images flooding the gallery at times and I'm sure there's been some superb imagery posted and I've missed it amongst the noise. I think maybe the remedy for that is for discussion in another thread some time. But it would perhaps explain the lack of nominations for this comp.
 
birdsandbats said:
I think it's interesting that two people now have said they do not like that wildlife photos have been included - I did not realize that some people thought that. Does anyone else share this opinion?
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No! To take really good photos of animals in the wild, especially moving birds, requires time and luck. Being in the right place at just the right time, as well as some skill with a camera, are all a part of your success. Normally everything has to be perfect at that one moment; lighting, focus etc.. Often there is only time for one photo to be taken, before the subject moves away. In a zoo situation you have much more time to get the photo just right. You also have the opportunity to take several shots. I think it is much harder to get a wildlife photo, than one of a captive animal. Wildlife photographs should be included!
 
amur leopard said:
Wow - some absolutely spectacular photos this year. For me it was an extremely tough call between four photos. Two were, admittedly, more than in part because of the subject matter (Chinese mountain cat and King cheetah respectively) while the other two, both by @Stefan Verhoeven were technically brilliant. While I found it tough to narrow it down, I found in the end that the photo that really embodied and evoked its subject to the fullest extent was the image of the wild Wildebeest captured by the aforementioned Zoochatter. Congrats to everyone nominated though, all the photos are incredible and more than worthy of the title.
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All of these photos are very good but ones that stand out to me are the Kingfisher, the Condor and the Tiger. The last is a brilliant shot; lighting, focus etc., all perfect. My vote for the Kingfisher is mainly due to the difficulty of getting that beautiful shot.
 
Terry Thomas said:
No! To take really good photos of animals in the wild, especially moving birds, requires time and luck. Being in the right place at just the right time, as well as some skill with a camera, are all a part of your success. Normally everything has to be perfect at that one moment; lighting, focus etc.. Often there is only time for one photo to be taken, before the subject moves away.
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The same for zoo photography.

Terry Thomas said:
In a zoo situation you have much more time to get the photo just right. You also have the opportunity to take several shots. I think it is much harder to get a wildlife photo, than one of a captive animal. Wildlife photographs should be included!
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Not always.
For most people, it is easier to get lots of average photos of captive animals, but not necessarily really good ones.
 
birdsandbats said:
I think it's interesting that two people now have said they do not like that wildlife photos have been included - I did not realize that some people thought that. Does anyone else share this opinion?
Click to expand...

I do. I like seeing the wildlife photos, but this is zoochat, after all. There's dozens, if not hundreds, of websites that focus on wildlife photography and plenty of contests for it, but this is really the only topic-specific one where people can share zoo photos. Even on photo sharing sites, like flickr, photos taken at zoos are often looked down on and species-specific groups on there tend to say in their rules that captive photos aren't allowed. I intentionally chose to nominate a photo taken at a zoo.
 
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