Andy Rouse Press Release

Wiltshire, October 19 2006: UK professional wildlife photographer Andy Rouse has just won two awards in the highly prestigious 2006 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. This is the 5th time in 10 years that Andy Rouse has been highly placed in the competition with two previous category winners and last years unforgettable surfing penguin image. The images are shown below.

This image has been nicknamed “Rival Kings” and was awarded Highly Commended. It shows the courtship between King Penguins; the female King Penguin is the one on the left doing the pushing, whilst her “chosen” male fends off the advances of another admirer. The image was taken last Boxing Day on the Falkland Islands.

“I love this image because it shows what King Penguins are all about “ says Rouse. “They are not only the most visually stunning of all the penguins but are fun to boot and they never fail to bring a smile to the face of even the most hardened (and freezing cold) wildlife photographer.”

This image is available as a limited edition print from Andy Rouse’s website. A percentage of the proceeds from the sales of the prints will be donated to The Aspira Fund, a conservation partnership with Paramo Directional Clothing Systems (see notes for editors below).
This image shows the moment when a Gentoo Penguin chick strayed too far from the relative safety of its colony and was Specially Commended. It was immediately surrounded by several Striated CaraCara (known locally as Johnny Rooks) and despite putting up a brave fight the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Rouse takes up the story “I am not a bunny hugger by any means but what I saw in those few minutes will stay with me for the rest of my life. The sheer helplessness of the chick, and the expression on the faces of the Johnny Rooks combine to tell a real story and make a very powerful image. It is a not a moment that I enjoyed photographing and for an hour afterwards I was unable to take any other images as I was severely upset by what I had seen. But I could not interfere under any circumstances, it is nature and that is nature’s way.”

Both images are part of the PenguinLife project which has seen Andy Rouse and partner Tracey Rich travel several times to the South Atlantic for extended periods of time. The project will culminate in a major international book (published in April 2007 by David & Charles) and a touring exhibition (details to be announced).

Andy Rouse will be taking part in a live webchat from the Natural History Museum on Monday 21st October. For details please see the Natural History Museum website.
Both images can be seen at the Natural History Museum’s Verwood Gallery which hosts the winning and commended images from the 21st October. Details from http://www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto/