GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2015

Klaus Tamm (Germany): 
"Marsh Gladiolus"

„It was an evening in June in Tuscany. During an evening stroll I discovered a few lizard orchids in bloom by the wayside. I had never seen these fragile orchids before. As it was quite late, I only took a couple of shots and decided to return the next day in better light conditions. To my great surprise, wild boars had obviously dug up and eaten the orchids‘ bulbs during the night. And so I noticed ano- ther subject on the opposite side of the path. The marsh gladiolus was to be a lovely sub- stitute for the lizard orchids. I was deeply impressed by the wonderful co- lours that came out in this photograph.“

In Germany the marsh gladiolus is threatened with extinction in many are- as and as such is protected by law. It is an indicator plant for wet, limy soil. In medieval times the plant was said to ward off evil and knights put it un- der their armour to make them invulnerable. A fact that is still reflected in its German name Sumpf-Siegwurz.

Since his teenage years, when Klaus Tamm first got his hands on a reflex camera, he has made it his cause to raise people‘s awareness for nature. He intends to create artistic images that make the viewer pause and look. His photo travels have led him to remote places in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain, but also to South Africa, South America and the Falkland Islands.
Klaus has won numerous awards at GDT and BBC.

With his images „Marsh Gladiolus“ Klaus Tamm came out on top in a field of 242 GDT members from seven countries. A total of 4,000 images was submitted. After pre-selection by a jury (Antje Kreienbrink, Joachim Wimmer and Karsten Mosebach), members made their choice at the weekend from ten images in each of the seven categories: Birds, Mammals, Other Animals, Plants & Fungi, Landscapes, Nature‘s Studio, and this year‘s special category Emotions.

The photographs of this competition will be exhibited 14 May until the end of September at the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) in Bonn, Germany. The exhibition will be opened in a preview on 13 May at 5 p.m.

Contact Klaus Tamm:
www.tamm-photography.com

Category 1: Birds

Category 2: Mammals

Category 3: Other Animals

Category 4: Plants and Fungi

Category 5: Landscapes

Category 6: Nature's Studio

Category 7: Emotions