The Judges
Take a look at the judging panel for BPOTY 12
Aishwarya Sridhar
India
A National Geographic Explorer, Aishwarya is the co-founder and CEO of Bambee Studios. From filming big cats across India to going undercover in the wildlife markets of Bangkok, she’s worked on diverse stories. A Canon EOS Maestro and an Associate Fellow at the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP), Aishwarya has contributed photos to several renowned publications such as National Geographic magazine and BBC Wildlife.
Mark Carwardine
United Kingdom
Mark is an award-winning writer and bestselling author of more than 50 books, a zoologist, a TV and radio broadcaster and a prolific wildlife photographer. Voted one of 'The World’s 40 Most Influential Nature Photographers’ (Outdoor Photography Magazine), he was Chair of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition for many years.
Daisy Gilardini
Switzerland/Canada
Daisy is a conservation photographer specializing in the Polar Regions, with a focus on Antarctic wildlife and North American bears. Originally from Switzerland and now based in Vancouver, Canada, Daisy’s lifelong dedication to documenting the beauty and fragility of the natural world was ignited by her first transformative journey to Antarctica in 1997.
Richard Peters
United Kingdom
Richard is a highly acclaimed wildlife photographer with a style that favours light and drama. A Swarovski Optik Partner and Nikon Ambassador Alumni, he leads photographic safaris and has won awards in major competitions such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He has also previously been named European Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Sue Flood OBE
Wales
Sue is an award-winning photographer, filmmaker, author and public speaker. Her work takes her all over the world but she has a special passion for the wildlife and icy beauty of the Polar regions and is one of the very few women who chooses to return again and again to Earth’s harshest and most demanding environments.
Hans Cosmas Ngoteya
Tanzania
Hans is a wildlife and conservation storyteller from Tanzania, committed to effecting positive change through his work. As a co-founder of Ngoteya Wild, he has directed award-winning documentaries that showcase both the significance and beauty of nature.
Sudhir Shivaram
India
Sudhir is one of India’s most celebrated wildlife photographers, renowned for his ability to combine technical mastery with powerful storytelling. A Sony India brand ambassador, he was named Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2012 and received the National Geographic Yellow Border Award in 2013 for the best National Geographic Traveler cover across 14 international editions.
Will Nicholls
United Kingdom
Will is the Director of Bird POTY. He is a wildlife cameraman working in natural history television, with credits for BBC, AppleTV, Netflix, Disney+, and more. He specialises in working at height in the forest canopy. He has also been a stills photographer since 2007.
Paul Sterry
United Kingdom
Paul is a best-selling author of photographically-illustrated wildlife field guides. A passion for bird photography led to him to found BPOTY and he continues to promote the competition’s conservation-orientated vison through its supportive relationship with the charity Birds on the Brink.
Andrew Cleave MBE
United Kingdom
Andrew, a biology teacher by training, is one of the founders of BPOTY, author and contributor to over 30 books on a wide range of natural history topics, and a busy wildlife tour leader in the UK and further afield. Andrew was appointed MBE for services to Environmental Education in 1995.