A staunch campaigner for the protection of the environment, who is working for the protection of Tañon Strait between Negros and Cebu islands, is one of the six Filipinos cited by the largest world photography competitions.
The judges of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards announced Tuesday in a media release that they “honour the work of Filipino photographer Danny Ocampo, whose image “Fish Tornado” was commended as the world’s Top 50 in the Open Wildlife category.
Ocampo, oceans campaign manager of Oceana, spends a lot of his time in Dauin town and in the world famous dive destination, Apo Island, which he considers his “second home”.
Over 227,000 images from 183 countries were submitted to the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, a media release said Wednesday.
Ocampo was recognised as a commended photographer alongside shortlisted photographers of the Professional, Open, Youth, and Student Focus competitions, all of which were also announced Feb. 28.
In the Open competition, judges were looking for the best single images across 10 categories, representing the finest contemporary photography today.
Ocampo is an environmentalist, animal lover, and ocean lover (underwater photographer, dive master, and windsurfer).He started diving in 1989 when he was 19 years old, and started taking underwater pictures using a Nikonos III film camera. He is also an advocate of ethical and responsible tourism, diving, and underwater photography.
“I feel honored to get the recognition as one of the top 50 commended photographers in the Wildlife category. I choose photos that factor in responsible and ethical practices…especially for diving and underwater photography wherein manipulation has become the norm,” Ocampo said.
The category winners for the Open competition will be announced March 28, and the overall Open Photographer of the Year title to be revealed on April 20 at an awards ceremony in London. Prizes include the latest Sony digital imagery equipment, and a $5,000 cash prize.
As a commended photographer, Danny Ocampo’s image will be shown alongside the awards’ other commended plus the shortlisted and winning images at the Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr — 2017 Exhibition in London from April 21 to May 7. The commended image will also be given a global audience as it is published on the World Photography Organisation website. (PNA/jfp)
