{"id":30513,"date":"2023-09-20T23:37:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T21:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=30513"},"modified":"2023-09-20T23:37:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T21:37:07","slug":"wild-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2023\/09\/20\/wild-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
CALENDAR<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Wild beauty<\/h2>\n\n

John Craven <\/strong>reflects on the qualities that he and his fellow judges look for when selecting the Countryfile Calendar <\/em>finalists<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

\"\"
Wildlife photographer Hamza Yassin, BBC Radio 2 DJ Edith Bowman and Countryfile presenter John Craven selected the 12 images that will appear in the Countryfile Calendar 2024<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

F<\/span><\/strong><\/span>or<\/strong> me, one of the great joys of being outdoors comes when you capture on camera, maybe even unexpectedly, that special moment when a wild creature does something wonderful in front of your lens. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Recently, I was privileged to share many such moments, as experienced by Countryfile <\/em>viewers, when I sifted through the long list of entries in our annual photographic competition. The theme of \u2018Wild Britain\u2019 proved to be a fantastic showcase for our native flora and fauna. <\/p>\n\n

All the old favourites were there \u2013 red squirrels, fox cubs, lone trees, puffins, spectacular vistas \u2013 as well as new, sometimes quirky, impressions of our natural world. But with the quality increasing every year, it was photos with \u2018wow\u2019 factor that caught the judges\u2019 eyes. <\/p>\n\n

Joining me on the panel were Radio 2\u2019s Edith Bowman, an avid photographer, and Hamza Yassin, wildlife cameraman and presenter who gained millions more fans when he won Strictly Come Dancing <\/em>last year. <\/p>\n\n

Our final chosen 12, reproduced here, get star billing in next year\u2019s Countryfile Calendar,<\/em> with the overall winner on the cover. Since it began in 1998, the calendar has raised more than \u00a328m for BBC Children in Need. The photo competition started seven years earlier and has attracted well over half a million entries. That\u2019s nothing compared to the five billion images that are taken every year around the world, but it does make it one of the UK\u2019s premier photographic contests. Edith, who did a City & Guilds course to learn the mechanics of photography, fondly remembers being invited to show her pictures at an exhibition.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWith the quality increasing every year, photos with \u2018wow\u2019 factor caught the judges\u2019 eyes\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt was lovely to see them blown up and hanging on a wall,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause normally you just see them on a screen in your hand. The pictures we have chosen will be hanging on walls for a month each.\u201d Edith, a first-time judge, reflects: \u201cIt\u2019s been inspiring to realise how much love, how much time, how much dedication has gone into taking these photos.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Hamza brought a professional\u2019s eye, quite literally, to the judging. \u201cI look into the eyes of an animal to see if flash was used; in one picture of a tawny owl I could see four or five photographers reflected in its eye! <\/p>\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m so envious of some of the pictures, wondering, \u2018How on Earth did they get the shot? How was that image set up?\u2019 The results have been stunning \u2013 we have seen such a good representation of wild Britain.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

OLD-TIME IMPRESSIONS <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
\"\"
John\u2019s first beautiful botanical cyanotype<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

In the early days of the competition, all entries were prints or slides; now everything is online and digital, with many outstanding images taken on phones. But it is possible to take photos without a camera, as I discovered from artist Martha Orbach during a break in the judging. She uses a technique called cyanotype, pioneered by one of the first women photographers, Anna Atkins<\/a>, in the early 1800s. Two harmless chemicals \u2013 ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide \u2013 are mixed then painted on to a sheet of paper, which is then kept in a lightproof envelope until needed. <\/p>\n\n

Cyanotype is perfect for one-dimensional botanic prints, so Martha showed me how to arrange petals and ferns on the treated paper, cover them with a sheet of glass and leave them in the sunlight for a few minutes. After being dipped into a coldwater \u2018fix\u2019, my photo appeared \u2013 pale whitish-blue images, some looking like X-rays, against a cyan-blue background. For me, it was another special moment \u2013 with not a camera or a lens in sight. <\/p>\n\n

Find out which photo wins the popular vote and which is the judges\u2019 favourite on Countryfile, <\/em>Sunday, 1 October on BBC One.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u2022 Find out how to buy the Countryfile Calendar 2024 at <\/em>countryfile.com<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

JANUARY<\/h5>\n\n

Wrendition<\/strong>
By Peter Richards<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

FEBRUARY<\/h5>\n\n

Catch of the Day
<\/strong>By Harrison Hall<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

MARCH<\/h5>\n\n

Morning Fawn
<\/strong>By Lee Sanders<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

APRIL<\/h5>\n\n

Swallowed Hole
<\/strong>By Terry Moore<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

MAY<\/h5>\n\n

Ewe Looking at Me
<\/strong>By Peter Kwasniewski<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

JUNE<\/h5>\n\n

Family Portrait
<\/strong>By Louise Revill<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

JULY<\/h5>\n\n

Breaking Waves
<\/strong>By David Rose-Massom<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

AUGUST<\/h5>\n\n

Boar to be Wild
<\/strong>By Carol Gadd<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

SEPTEMBER<\/h5>\n\n

Outfoxed
<\/strong>By John Hastings<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

OCTOBER<\/h5>\n\n

Knock Knock…
<\/strong>By Peter Banks<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

NOVEMBER<\/h5>\n\n

The Conductor
<\/strong>By Mark Chambers<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

DECEMBER<\/h5>\n\n

Ice Fishing
<\/strong>By Warren Price<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

Photo: Toby Hough<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Craven reflects on the qualities that he and his fellow judges look for when selecting the Countryfile Calendar 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