Winners Chronicle

FRITZ PÖLKING PRIZE AND FRITZ PÖLKING JUNIOR PRIZE

The winners of each year

The influence of GDT founder member and honorary member Fritz Pölking on wildlife photography in Germany is unrivalled. His work received international recognition on numerous occasions and many of his photographs have found their way into a collective memory. Numerous books, lectures and workshops were the basis on which Fritz Pölking reached out to people all over the world; his work remains a source of inspiration and motivation for many photographers.

In recognition of his photographic work the publishing house Tecklenborg in cooperation with the GDT has launched the Fritz Pölking Prize and the Fritz Pölking Junior Prize in 2008. This award will be presented within the context of the contest European Wildlife Photographer of the Year and will be awarded yearly for extraordinary work in the field of wildlife photography. This may either be a special wildlife photography project or a portfolio of individual photographs. The minimum number of submitted photographs is 8; the maximum number is restricted to 12. Judgement will focus on photographic performance as well as the overall conception, idea and creative execution.

The German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) invites all amateur and professional photographers from all over Europe to participate in the competition every year.

2023

Jasper Doest - 9
Jasper Doest | Project: A fragile refuge for forest elephants

A fruit famine in one of the last strongholds of the African forest elephant raises concerns about the ability of this species to survive in the long term. more...

2023 Junior Prize

Stieglitz | Goldfinch
Mateusz Piesiak | Project: Sunflower paradise

A sunflower field could not be harvested due to the high water level - a financial loss for the farmer, a true paradise for wintering birds. more...

2022

Jan Leßmann | Schneesturm | snow storm
Jan Leßmann | Project: Lockdown Heron

I circle around the heron repeatedly with my silent camera, looking for street lamps whose light would reveal the heron at the dark harbour... more...

2022 Junior Prize

David Hup & Michiel van Noppen | Im natürlichen Lebensraum | In her natural habitat
David Hup & Michiel van Noppen | Project: A bear in the backyard

A story of two young Dutchmen about the deep-rooted connection between the last remaining wilderness in Europe and a young democracy called Romania ... more...

2021

Jasper Doest | 9
Jasper Doest | Project: Nsenene

Catching bush crickets (Nsenene) is an old tradition in Uganda that creates jobs and provides considerable income, as the crickets are considered a delicacy and are highly sought after. more...

2021 Junior Prize

Emile Sechaud | Der König | The king
Emile Séchaud | Project: In the kingdom of the ibex

The lucky fate of the ibex seems like a glimmer of hope and a model for many endangered species that may make future generations dream, just as the ibex makes us dream in the Alps today. more...

2020

Alejandro Prieto | Ein weiterer ausgeschlossener Migrant | Another excluded migrant
Alejandro Prieto | Project: Border wall

The nearly two thousand miles long US-Mexico border traverses some of the continent’s most biologically diverse regions. more...

2020 Junior Prize

Florian Smit | Schneegestöber | A flurry of snow
Florian Smit | Project: Bearer of bad tidings

In medieval times, the appearance of Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) was considered a warning of looming misfortune. more...

2019

Stephan Amm | First light
Stephan Amm | Project: The art of ice

As a photographer [...] I learnt quickly to value ice as an ingredient capable of enriching many subjects by adding a certain something. more...

2019 Junior Prize

Thomas Hempelmann | Himmelwärts | Skywards
Thomas Hempelmann | Project: Less is more

The more reduced the photo, the more the viewer concentrates on the few bits that are there. more...

2018

Johannes Wassermann | Am Ruheplatz
Johannes Wassermann | Project: 'My' hazel grouse cock in the mountain forest of South Tyrol

It was love at first sight, and from that moment to this very day, I never fail to think about "him" at least once a day. more...

2018 Junior Prize

Mateusz Piesiak | White ladies
Mateusz Piesiak | Project: Shades of blue

[...] with their grace in flight as they balance slight differences in wind with a tiny beat of their wings. more...

2017

Karsten Mosebach | Project: The realm of the barn owl

Detached from time and space, the gaze focuses on the beautiful bird. more...

2017 Junior Prize

Iberian lynx the Iberian essence
Sergio Marijuán | Project: Essences

This kind of contact with wilderness, the unique experiences and moments never fail to move me deeply. more...

2016

4. Audun Rikardsen - Auf dem Weg zu leichter Beute
Audun Rikardsen | Project: The polar winter feeding feast

Rikardsen has developed a unique camera system including a special underwater housing and powerful flash system that produces good results in the poor light conditions of the polar winter. more...

2016 Junior Prize

8. Quentin Martinez - Der Herr- scher des Wassers
Quentin Martinez | Project: An unexpected world

Children should throw stones into the water, blow the seed of dandelions into the air and catch grasshoppers... more...

2015

Bruno D´Amicis: Kleiner Geist der Dünen
Bruno D´Amicis | Project: Fennec, little ghost of the dunes

He is promptly recognised by everyone on account of its cuteness and its incredibly large ears- the Fennec. more...

2015 Junior Prize

Connor Stefanison: Sonnenstern
Connor Stefanison | Project: Mountain Goats

Their white coats and daredevil-like climbing abilities make them a true icon of the western mountain ranges of North America. more...

2014

Urtzi Vera: Vier Jahreszeiten
Urtzi Vera | Project: The pollarded beech trees in the forest of Gorbeia

I have felt the urge to document the fleeting beauty of these trees photographically. more...

2014 Junior Prize

Michel d’Oultremont
Michel d’Oultremont | Project: In the life of black-necked grebes

But wherever he goes, he is happiest on a floating hide on a quiet lake in the early hours of the morning. mehr...