Wildlife / Animals nominee

When I'm at a place where the sea meets the sky and thousands of birds circle around me, I want to capture the moment as it presents itself. It is fleeting as the movement of wings, the ever-changing formation of the birds, the splashing of waves below. I am more and more drawn to long exposure images to portray the essence of avian acrobatics. The blurred wings show their movement, the sheer speed and grace are painted into the morning sky and one can almost hear the flurrying and the different calls. At times, it's just a heron in the reeds, or a roseate spoonbill against a green backdrop, the speed and contrast creating a symphony of colors.

Irene Amiet is a nature photographer, conservationist and freelance writer from Basel, Switzerland. Having lived and worked on three different continents, her work has been influenced by different cultures and people’s co-existence with nature. Irene started her artistic career after spending time as a Field Rep for Rainforest Concern and Global Vision in Panama and South Africa where she was involved in anti-poaching initiatives, predator density research and community projects. In Texas, Irene was a long-term contributor to Coast Monthly Magazine and wrote a blog on nature and conservation for the Galveston Daily News. Irene started her much-commended study of avian motion and ballet, in stillness and flight, in the theatre of the natural seagrass beds of the Gulf Coast, often using a slow-shutter technique to paint with light.
With help of her photography, Irene has supported many conservation organisations over the years and contributed to initiatives such as the Texas Coastal Heritage Preserves, the New Big Five, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and most recently, the Lancashire Wildlife Trust with her work depicting owls and stags in the North of England, her home.