Faces of Melanesia

Nembao Village, Utupua Island

Mangroves with reflections, Utupua Is, Solomon Islands

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Mangroves with reflections, Utupua Is, Solomon Islands

$Giant ship: tiny boat! Boy with dugout canoe standing on the algae-covered bulb of Clipper Odyssey, Utupua Island, Solomon Islands<br /> <br /> COMMENT about the lack of representation of woman photographers among the award winners in major photography competitions:<br /> <br /> I went to the National History Museum yesterday in London, UK, to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award photographs. <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/wpy/gallery/2013/index.html">http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/wpy/gallery/2013/index.html</a>). As usual the photographs were wonderful......and as usual 99% of the awards were received by men!! Only two women won prizes out of ~240 winners. I have nothing against men that take wonderful wildlife photos and enjoy seeing their work. I just wonder why women are not recognized for their excellent photos. In other years when I have gone to this exhibition, it has been exactly the same.<br /> <br /> So why is this? I doubt that there is bias against women on the jury, since many of the jurors are women. I also doubt it is because women aren't capable of taking award winning photos, or don't have the equipment or the technical know how to do so (as our many talented lady smugmuggers clearly demonstrate). I also don't think is is because women don't travel to the exotic places where these types of photos can be taken. In my travels the women usually outnumber the men.<br /> <br /> So I concluded that it is because, for whatever reason women photographers are not entering these contests, maybe for lack of time, maybe for lack of confidence, maybe because they are unaware of them, or maybe because they can't be bothered playing that particular game.<br /> <br /> I must confess that I never enter contests, since I am too busy with my 'real' career to spend the extra time and effort for a very small chance of winning, and since, I admit, that I am not confident enough about winning to 'waste' the time applying. And I don't approve of contests with entry fees, as I see them as a way of siphoning money into the organization sponsoring the contest with only a tiny fraction paid out in prizes (are you listening National Geographic?)<br /> <br /> Bottom line: When I went to the National History Museum today, I asked about the very low representation of women among the winners. I was told that this had been noticed by those in charge and the reason was that only a tiny percentage of the entries are from women. So now we need to understand why women are not entering these contests. Any ideas?<br /> <br /> Other photos from Utupua Island can be see here: <a href="http://goo.gl/7fe3UJ">http://goo.gl/7fe3UJ</a><br /> <br /> 14/12/13 <a href="http://www.allenfotowild.com">http://www.allenfotowild.com</a>$

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