Jacquie Matechuk (courtesy of the artist)
Canadian photographer Jacquie Matechuk has been named Nature Photographer of the Year 2023 for “He Looks to the Heavens,” a photo she took of a rare spectacled bear in the Ecuadorean Andes.
The global award was presented by Nature Talks, a photo agency in the Netherlands.
“The Spanish moss hanging from this centuries-old fig tree gives an incredible sense of three-dimensionality while the soft light filtering through the colours highlights the profound connection between species and habitat in this image,” said Nature Talks chair Marco Gaiotti in a news release.
Jacquie Matechuk, “He Looks to the Heavens” (photo courtesy of Nature Photographer of the Year 2023)
A certified bear guide and photographer, Matechuk is a Canon Canada Ambassador in Canmore, Alta. She also won in the competition’s Mammals category.
Photographer Thomas Vijayan won in the Landscape category for his photo of the Austfonna Ice Cap In Svalbard, Norway. An architect from Kerala, India, he grew up in Bangalore and now lives in Canada.
“This image inspires a stillness, but also a lot of power. The devastating force of the melting glaciers in the context of climate change generated by our lifestyles and the race for profit,” said Gheorghe Popa, one of the judges, in the news release.
Source: Nature Photographer of the Year 2023, Nature Talks and Jacquie Matechuk
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