Good example of why it's not big or clever to bend the rules of competitions:

Quote::

The winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award has been disqualified after judges ruled that the featured wolf was probably a "model". The 2009 winning image, dubbed the storybook wolf, was taken by photographer Jose Luis Rodriguez. Mr Rodriguez strongly denied that the wolf was a trained animal, according to a statement from the organisers. His photograph was chosen out of more than 43,000 competition entries in October 2009. Louise Emerson from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition office explained that the judging panel had been "reconvened" and had concluded that it was likely that the wolf featured in the image was an animal model that could be "hired for photographic purposes". This, she said, was in breach of the competition rules which are made available to all entrants. Rest of article

Shame on him! And shame about the image.

I still think it's a fantastically beautiful photograph.

As above, shame on him, but the image is still superb. Something out of Little Red Riding Hood (no photoshopped shower caps or nightdresses though!)

Tut tut, but even more than that, a little silly for a major comp, maybe gat away with it a club or national level, tis a well constructed shot though, I would think to get such in the wild, you would have to be pretty lucky.

I like the shot, Simon we should re-construct it but have me jumping over the fence

Its a deal

It's a nice photo, but there were astounding entries who didn't cheat that were much more technically brilliant. One of the reasons this photo won was because of how rare and hard it would be to get the shot indicating dedication to achieving the right place at the right time. Praise that evidently the photographer never deserved.

The rest of the images who were awarded prizes are at:

www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us...Gallery.do

and well worth a look

Often the case Ruth, its not just technical brilliance, but high impact, little rare etc
Some excellent stuff, thanks for the link

I love the one with the fox and the cat in the adult category.

"I love the one with the fox and the cat in the adult category."

I wish I had a less dirty mind right now...

wow what a cool shot!

simon_p wrote:

Tut tut, but even more than that, a little silly for a major comp, maybe gat away with it a club or national level, tis a well constructed shot though, I would think to get such in the wild, you would have to be pretty lucky.

I've been following the very heated debates on DPReview.

The judging panel were sceptical from the start, they with held the £10K prize till Mr Rodriguez gave them proof of the location, which he has failed to do...linky

Money = root of all evil

I think when you also have a few wolf experts saying it's the same wolf that's available for hire you're also a little bit beyond being able to talk your way out of it.

At least it's a very public lesson to anyone else considering being a little liberal with the truth about how wild their animals are.

More so Ruth when several spanish wildlife photographers idenitfied the gate and knew its exact location in a wildlife park.

Remember the crap snow leopard pic that won? That was all about subject rarity - aesthetically it sucked.