1 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: On this episode of Newts World. As someone who loves 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: animals and particularly seeing animals in their natural habitat, I 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:15,400 Speaker 1: am delighted to introduce my guest Tom Sullom. He is 4 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 1: the co founder of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards along 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: with Paul Joynson Hicks, which is a unique photography contest 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: capturing the amazing and funny things animals do in their 7 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: natural environment. Their mission is quote through the Comedy Wildlife 8 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: Photography Awards, we aimed a widened understanding and engagement of 9 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: a sustainable world and wildlife conservation, specifically for the preservation 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: of biodiversity and the health and enrichment of everyone on Earth. 11 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,279 Speaker 1: That's quite a story as to how this contest came 12 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: into being, so I really pleased Tom will join me 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: to talk about their upcoming contest with entries due by 14 00:00:53,200 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: June thirtieth. Tom, welcome and thank you for joining me 15 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: on NEWTS World. 16 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 2: Thanks very much for having me. It's an honor. 17 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,039 Speaker 1: Your bio says that your journey to becoming a photographer 18 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: wasn't exactly direct psychology degree corporate jobs photography. Did you 19 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: always want to be a photographer or was it just 20 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,680 Speaker 1: a hobby that eventually led you to a career. 21 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 3: It was a hobby and I can't even say that 22 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 3: I was one of those guys that was given a 23 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 3: box brown near the age of four and taught by 24 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 3: my great grandfather. 25 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 2: That didn't happen. 26 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 3: I followed my nose, my commercial nose, I guess, went 27 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 3: into the city in London, and I thought I should 28 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 3: really be focusing on just making as much money as 29 00:01:43,360 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 3: I could. That seemed to be my eighteen year old brain, 30 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 3: and I think it was about thirteen years I realized 31 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 3: there were other things that I was also interested in, 32 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 3: and the photography. It's quite a bold move, but it 33 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 3: was if you can be commercial about something creative like 34 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 3: photographer or any kind of art, you can make a living, 35 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 3: not the same kind of living as you'd make in 36 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 3: the city. And so I started doing the more creative 37 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 3: thing of photography. And then my wife was offered a 38 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 3: job in North Africa. In Tanzania, where we moved in 39 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 3: twenty thirteen, is a family with two young kids, and 40 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 3: that's when I started teaching myself wildlife photography. 41 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: Before we get to our life photography, I've visited Tanzania briefly. 42 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 1: What was it like living there. 43 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 3: I would go back there in a heartbeat. You know, 44 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 3: when you go there you're filled with anxiety. 45 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 2: You know. 46 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 3: We come from a middle class part of London. You 47 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 3: hear and read the scary things and you tend to 48 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 3: remember them rather than the positive things, except for great 49 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 3: words that carry all away, like Serengetti and Kilimanjaro. Those 50 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 3: things obviously appealed. But once we arrived and found our house, 51 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 3: Tanzanians are the most lovely nation of people I've ever met. 52 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 3: It's an egalitarian way of living. I think that harks 53 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,079 Speaker 3: back to their the sort of communist leader they had 54 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 3: in the sixties. Things have changed there quite a lot, 55 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 3: by the people have remained very egalitarian. They love European 56 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 3: kids or Western World kids. So there's a lot of 57 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 3: talk of danger and risk, and you mustn't know. If 58 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 3: you walk around with a giant Rolex and your iPad 59 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 3: under your arm, you may ask for trouble. But that 60 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 3: would happen anywhere. But actually in Tanzanier we found us 61 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 3: it was very safe. You can take precautions, but in fact, 62 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 3: I've never felt safer in any place that I've lived, 63 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 3: and I lived in about four or five different countries, 64 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 3: So it was amazing. 65 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 2: It was an amazing place that I would go back. 66 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: Tell us about how you came up with us, because 67 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: we do want our listeners to have a chance to 68 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: actually participate if they want to the idea of the 69 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: Nikon Comedy Wildlife Award where did it come from? 70 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 3: Right at the beginning, Paul Johnson Hicks, who came up 71 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,960 Speaker 3: with this with me, was photographing a Vero's eagle owl, 72 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 3: which is a very impressive eagle owl, somewhere in Tanzania. 73 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 3: He lives in Tanzanier. Balled us and the eagle turned 74 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 3: away from him and looked back at him between its legs, 75 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 3: and he took the shot. So he's got two legs 76 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 3: with eyes looking at him from between the legs, and 77 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 3: he showed it to me and I sort of chuckled, 78 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 3: and I said, that's great. I guess there's no use 79 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:17,840 Speaker 3: for this type of picture, and he said, no, there 80 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 3: is no resource where I could put a picture like this. 81 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 3: It has to be elegant and splendid and look like 82 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 3: a sort of king of the trees. And then together 83 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 3: in that conversation we said, it's a shame. We should 84 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 3: think of something where you could upload these real life 85 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 3: images of wildlife that are excellentally photographed, and that was 86 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 3: the crux of the beginning of the competition. And then 87 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 3: both of us, being commercially minded, if I'm being very honest, 88 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 3: we thought, well, how do we get this to work? 89 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 3: And we said, well, actually, we could use the humor 90 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 3: of this image and of other if there are other 91 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 3: images like this to appeal to people's empathetic nature, and 92 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 3: so we can launch the competition and we will talk 93 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 3: about how the comedy images will also create a sort 94 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 3: of a movement towards understanding conservation and the state of 95 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,280 Speaker 3: wildlife at the moment. So we realized there was the 96 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 3: seriousness of comedy. Effectively, is that you've got. We did 97 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 3: a bit of research and there's a lot that's been written, 98 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 3: a lot of research has been done on how humor 99 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,120 Speaker 3: can get people to see things in a different light. 100 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 3: And the main example we came across time and time 101 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 3: again was if I show you pictures of a rhino 102 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 3: that's been shot or killed and has this horn sawn off, 103 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:35,039 Speaker 3: or an elephant that's been shot, one can tend to 104 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 3: be put off by that. You feel stressed, you feel 105 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 3: a bit guilty, possibly to the point where often you 106 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:41,479 Speaker 3: might just go, oh, I don't want to see that, 107 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 3: you know, I like elephants. 108 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:43,559 Speaker 2: I don't want to see the dead ones. 109 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 3: And you don't necessarily take action or feel a need 110 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 3: to do anything because you want to ignore it. Whereas 111 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 3: if you then see a humorous image of let's say, 112 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 3: an elephant, and this is based on research. This is 113 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 3: not something that I or Paul knew were not particularly 114 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 3: smart people, but it was more and what we read 115 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 3: the humor creates an empathy immediately and a link with 116 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 3: the animal you've just seen, and that empathy may lead 117 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,480 Speaker 3: to nothing, but often it leads to a positive reaction 118 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 3: towards the animal or wildlife as it is. And so 119 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 3: we paired the two together. We had this picture that 120 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 3: Paul didn't know where to put, and then we had 121 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 3: this idea that actually humor might work and get people 122 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:30,679 Speaker 3: enervated and energized towards maybe doing something positive. And thirdly, 123 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 3: given the state of Paul and I, you know, were photographers, 124 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 3: we're not kind of wildly working every hour that God's 125 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 3: given us, we thought, actually this is quite nice, because 126 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,920 Speaker 3: people can do little things. The small step is better 127 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 3: than no step. And so that was the sort of 128 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 3: third point of the triangle for us, is that you've 129 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 3: seen this funny image, you might have one that you 130 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 3: can enter into the competition. And for people who are 131 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 3: seeing the competition, they might feel this empathy that I've 132 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:04,159 Speaker 3: talked about and they can take little baby steps. Most 133 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 3: of us are not one hundred percent pure. We all fly, 134 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 3: we all drive, we all make use of the incredible 135 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 3: things that man has come up with. But there is 136 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 3: also something that we can all do that we never do. 137 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 3: And even if it's getting little flower pots on your windowsill, 138 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 3: that's going to save a few bees. And I know 139 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 3: that sounds slightly trivial and minor, but if that's the 140 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 3: best you can do, then that's better than nothing. And 141 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 3: so we've pushed the competition on the back of this. 142 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 3: The world's too big and too worrying, and the news 143 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 3: is always worrying, and. 144 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 2: We panic about everything. 145 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 3: But if you can break it down and say to people, look, 146 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 3: you can't save the world on your own, but you 147 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 3: can do the best you can do, that's it. 148 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 2: Stop there. 149 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 3: And if it means getting flower pots in your windowsill 150 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 3: or buying eco products from good sources, you can make 151 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 3: little steps. So we're really against ramming our message down 152 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 3: people's throats. We're not aggressive in that respect. We want 153 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 3: to keep the humor of the competition very clear, but 154 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 3: we want people to understand that the humor is a 155 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 3: means to an end, which is to try and just 156 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 3: get people to realize how lovely these animals are. When 157 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 3: we moved to Tanzania, I loved animals. I always have done. 158 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 2: We've got pets. 159 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 3: I like wildlife, but I've taken it for granted absolutely. 160 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 3: And I heard a story from an old British soldier 161 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 3: who I met in Tanzania in Diroslam and he said, 162 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,200 Speaker 3: when I came here after the Second World War, he 163 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 3: was I think he was sixteen when he got there, 164 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 3: and he said, there were rhinos like sheep on the 165 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 3: outskirts of diros alarm. So when I say sheep as 166 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 3: in the sheep in the UK are on every field 167 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 3: that you see when you drive through the UK. And 168 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 3: I said, but now there's what knight, He said, no, 169 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,679 Speaker 3: there's five in the serengetti as in five rhinos. And 170 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 3: I thought, wow, that's sixty years. It's gone from tens 171 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,679 Speaker 3: of thousands of rhinos to none. And it was that 172 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 3: one moment that made me suddenly realize that we all 173 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 3: take these things for granted because they're there. 174 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 2: They're there in our lives. 175 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 3: We're born with them, and we see them in the zoos, 176 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 3: and we read about them in books. But until you 177 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 3: sort of live, and I did, you live a moment 178 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 3: which reminds you that these things are not here forever 179 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 3: unless we all do something to stop it. It struck 180 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 3: me as a thing and I've always since then, I've 181 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,920 Speaker 3: been a big believer in making people go, oh wow, no, 182 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:31,040 Speaker 3: that is a cool picture. That is a funny photo. 183 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 3: I'd like to enter the competition if I've got one. 184 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 3: But thirdly, also I could do a bit more than 185 00:09:37,559 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 3: I actually do to help this wildlife. 186 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,840 Speaker 1: Getting started. How are you getting attention? 187 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 3: So we were very lucky but at the beginning we 188 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 3: set up a little website and you entered your pictures 189 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 3: directly on the website, which is still the case now 190 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 3: it's a free to enter competition. We're not commercially minded 191 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 3: on that front, and luckily with the press are huge 192 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 3: fans of the competition. 193 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 2: In a way, I think. 194 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:24,240 Speaker 3: It's considered as the good news story amongst normally bad news. 195 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:26,479 Speaker 2: The press love the bad news stuff. 196 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 3: And now and again they like something a bit more lighthearted, 197 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 3: which ironically it's not because of its underlying reason for existence. 198 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 3: But it's a very easy thing for people to look 199 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 3: at and enjoy, whether it's twenty seconds or two minute piece. 200 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 3: But given the rife nature of social media and TikTok 201 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 3: and blogs and everything online podcasts, it's been an excellent 202 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 3: sort of self marketed piece of material. And we have 203 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 3: half a million followers on Instagram and same again on 204 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 3: Facebook and so on, and it's been taken out of 205 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 3: our hands. I really don't take a lot of credits neither. 206 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,719 Speaker 3: It's Paul for the success of the competition because it 207 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 3: was a chance meeting, a chance decision, a chance idea. 208 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 2: But it was the press. 209 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 3: It was a British newspaper called The Daily Telegraph that 210 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 3: printed the images and it went like wildfire from there. 211 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:22,960 Speaker 3: And so now last year we had it's measured in 212 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 3: eyeballs on the images. Last year we had twelve billion 213 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 3: eyeballs on the images. 214 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,040 Speaker 2: That was billion with a bee, billion with a bee 215 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:32,559 Speaker 2: for Bravo. 216 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: Yes, that's amazing. 217 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's really amazing, and we do our 218 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:39,839 Speaker 3: best to make sure very often. I mean, if I'm 219 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 3: being very frank on this podcast, we know that lots 220 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 3: of people look at the pictures and then turn the 221 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 3: page or swipe or whatever it might be and don't 222 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 3: think about it again. But they'll say, oh, yeah, I 223 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:53,559 Speaker 3: remember I saw some funny pictures of animals. And it's 224 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 3: very difficult to maybe engage all these people, but we 225 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:01,559 Speaker 3: do know firsthand that it does work because we get 226 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 3: a ton of messages which are difficult to get through 227 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,840 Speaker 3: but mainly on email, saying love what you're doing, love 228 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 3: the idea, love the concept, and it ranges from CEOs 229 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 3: to senior people in the media industry, to kids, to 230 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,320 Speaker 3: board housewives to board house husbands, and they write and 231 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 3: they say to us, this is amazing, this is funny. 232 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 3: I love it, and I love the fact that I 233 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 3: can talk to my peers or my kids or my 234 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 3: parents and show them these images and create the same 235 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 3: sort of convivial feeling amongst this group of people and 236 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 3: generally create a positive mood from particularly now I think 237 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 3: where you may disagree, but certainly in the UK, there's 238 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 3: this heavy sense that everything's doom and gloom that whether 239 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,679 Speaker 3: it's Israel or Ukraine or there's this sort of permanent 240 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 3: thing going on, and then comedy wildlife just is a 241 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 3: soft break from. 242 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 2: The bad news. 243 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 3: We try to refocus people's concerns and say, look, some 244 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 3: things are out of your hands Israel, Ukraine, these are 245 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 3: problems you can't solve, but you can do something on 246 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 3: a conservation bias. 247 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: I like that. How do you raise the money for 248 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: the whole process? Membership is a donations. 249 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 3: We have sponsorship, so Nick on our sponsors this year 250 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 3: and the world last year and it's been great working 251 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,199 Speaker 3: with them. Before that, we didn't raise money, so it 252 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 3: was a free to enter competition and we. 253 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,160 Speaker 2: Let the press use the pictures for free. 254 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:34,120 Speaker 3: Also, I'm sure a more commercially minded person would turn 255 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 3: this into a much higher revenue generating cut thing, but 256 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:41,559 Speaker 3: we generate revenue mainly through the marketing of the images, 257 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 3: so we merchandise if you enter. So, for example, if 258 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 3: your wife enters the competition and gets to the final 259 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:51,120 Speaker 3: sixty or seventy, we would write to earn. So you've 260 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,480 Speaker 3: made the final seventy, you did sign in the terms 261 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,440 Speaker 3: of conditions that you would allow us to make use 262 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 3: of your image, for exhibitions, for postcards, all sorts of merchandise. 263 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 3: But because we're not monsters, we're just making sure you're 264 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 3: happy with that, and if you are happy, then great 265 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 3: and we'll go ahead. The business which generates income through 266 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 3: the merchandising. We have the sponsorship from whichever the headline 267 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 3: sponsor is, which is nick On at the moment, and 268 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 3: from time to time we get philanthropists chucking in a 269 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 3: bit just so we can keep the business running because 270 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 3: it's not quite not for profit, but we give ten 271 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 3: percent of everything we make gross to the charity we 272 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 3: support each year. We change charities from time to time. 273 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 3: We're currently supporting a British charity called the Whitley Fund 274 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 3: for Nature. Before that we are with Born Free to 275 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 3: another big British charity, and then we supported a small 276 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 3: charity in Borneo that worked with the orangutangs. 277 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 2: We're a small team. We're very flexible. 278 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 3: We can pick and choose the charities depending on how 279 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 3: the money gets used. 280 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 2: Because it's important for us to be able to tell a. 281 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 3: Story, to say okay, we've got the competition, which raises 282 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 3: humor and laughs and smiles. Those smiles create the empathy 283 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 3: I've talked about, which then helps people to make a 284 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:11,280 Speaker 3: positive step towards some form of animal conservation. Then we 285 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 3: have on the other side the merchandising, and then we 286 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 3: want the charity that we support financially to be able 287 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 3: to say to us, well, this year, the money you 288 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 3: gave us helped save could be twenty lions that were 289 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 3: re released into a contained park in the Serengetti. So 290 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 3: we make sure the charities can tell us a good 291 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 3: story or can share a good story with us that 292 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 3: our money has helped to create. We don't have enough 293 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 3: income to say we can give hundreds of thousands to anyone, 294 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:45,040 Speaker 3: but we can definitely, as one more thing, help a specific. 295 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 2: Charity with their target. 296 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,120 Speaker 3: So which is why we chose the Orangutangs, because that 297 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:53,040 Speaker 3: charity had very little, and actually the charity that has 298 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 3: very little, if you give them ten thousand dollars, for example, 299 00:15:56,760 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 3: that's a huge boost to them and they can achieve 300 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 3: what they wanted to achieve. We're scaling up a bit now, 301 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 3: we're recruiting two more people to run the business with us. 302 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 3: It's taken off because of its popularity and it's an 303 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 3: easy entry to market. These pictures make people laugh, and 304 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 3: I think the secret to it is that humor in 305 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 3: an image is quite border free. You know, someone in Japan, 306 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 3: or someone in the States, or someone in the UK 307 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 3: or someone in Iceland will find that image funny, possibly 308 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 3: for different reasons, but they'll still find it funny. And 309 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 3: you know, if I crack a joke about something that 310 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:38,520 Speaker 3: has immediate kind of borders to it, some countries won't 311 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,280 Speaker 3: like my joke, and you know, might be offensive to others. 312 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 3: But these images, they're free of all that, which I 313 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 3: think is one of the core reasons. And this is 314 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 3: all retrospective thinking because we didn't expect the competition to 315 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 3: be this popular, but I think that's one of the 316 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 3: reasons it's so big. We sell exhibitions around the world. 317 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 3: We've got about eighteen going on at the moment. They 318 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 3: really are all over the world. There's one coming to 319 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 3: Smithfield Museums, Massachusetts, it opens next week actually, and there's 320 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:11,439 Speaker 3: one in the Netherlands that's permanent, from the US to 321 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 3: the Netherlands to all over to Japan. 322 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 2: One in Denmark opening. It seems to not be an issue. 323 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,119 Speaker 3: Everyone enjoys the pictures, which I think is the secret 324 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 3: to the success of this thing. 325 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: These localized these so its are they taking that year's 326 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: pictures or what are they. 327 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 2: Doing good question? 328 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:32,679 Speaker 3: Actually, the pictures don't get old because you can choose 329 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:35,439 Speaker 3: one from the first year twenty fifteen and laugh as 330 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:38,360 Speaker 3: much as one from last year. The one in Smithfield, 331 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:43,359 Speaker 3: Massachusetts is the top fifty from twenty twenty four, so 332 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 3: it's the finalists and the winners. But the one in 333 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 3: the Netherlands, for example, they pick the ones that they 334 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 3: like from over the years, and they keep mixing it up, 335 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,679 Speaker 3: so they'll pick two or three from each year, and 336 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:56,920 Speaker 3: then the next year they'll do the same with different ones. 337 00:17:57,560 --> 00:17:59,840 Speaker 3: It's free and most of the exhibitions tend to be free, 338 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 3: which is great, so people get through the door. They 339 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:04,879 Speaker 3: then might spend some money on the merchandising, which is 340 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 3: great for us. And it's really so that we remain 341 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 3: a sustainable business. We're not trying to convert it into 342 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:14,920 Speaker 3: a multi million dollar business. We're trying to make sure 343 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 3: the competition is sustainable. If we can make some decent 344 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 3: income and sponsor more and more charities with what we make, 345 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:25,440 Speaker 3: then great. 346 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 2: That's sort of the pipe dream I have to say. 347 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,439 Speaker 1: By the way, just as an aside. If going up 348 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,200 Speaker 1: to see mountain gorillas is on your bucket list, going 349 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: to Barneo to see orangutans is on mine. I think 350 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 1: it will be remarkable. 351 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, I would join you on that. That's another bucket listing. 352 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:45,480 Speaker 1: I think orans are more distant and more cautious, but 353 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,439 Speaker 1: mountain gorillas are very social and remarkably open to hanging 354 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: out with people. 355 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,200 Speaker 3: Paul Joints and Hicks is actually running a safari trip 356 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:55,120 Speaker 3: there this Friday. 357 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 2: I spoke to him this morning. He's going with six clients. 358 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 3: Normally I go with him because we do comedy wildlife 359 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 3: safaris that we run together. In fact, last year's safari 360 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,440 Speaker 3: was one hundred percent US citizens who came on our group. 361 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 2: It was amazing. It was so lovely. And we're big. 362 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 3: Fans of the American tourists because they seem to have 363 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,159 Speaker 3: a natural energy and interest. I mean, if they're going 364 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 3: to make the effort to go from the States to 365 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 3: East Africa, that's a big journey, and they were so interested. 366 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 2: Sometimes you can get a bit blase. 367 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:28,400 Speaker 3: A when you see these things every day, or if 368 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,000 Speaker 3: you haven't done it, or you think it's nothing amazing, 369 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 3: and what was great last year was the whole group 370 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 3: was so into it. I think this is our permanent 371 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,640 Speaker 3: thing is we want people to realize that wildlife is great. 372 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,720 Speaker 3: Everything we see, even all the Marvel movies are based 373 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,439 Speaker 3: on humans with superpowers, but those superpowers exist in the 374 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 3: animal world. 375 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:51,360 Speaker 2: Insects can do some. 376 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:53,919 Speaker 3: Of the things that the Marvel characters do and so on, 377 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:57,600 Speaker 3: And we're trying to remind people again without shoving it 378 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:00,199 Speaker 3: down people's throats, which I think is the wrong approach. 379 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:02,679 Speaker 1: If somebody wanted to go on safari with you guys, 380 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:07,719 Speaker 1: how would they communicates. 381 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:08,360 Speaker 3: On our website, there's a little link and you can 382 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:10,400 Speaker 3: click it in. It just sends an email to Paul 383 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,920 Speaker 3: or me and we then get in touch. We've got 384 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,400 Speaker 3: a waiting list at the moment, but actually things fluctuate 385 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 3: all the time, so it's worth emailing and getting on 386 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,840 Speaker 3: the waiting list. We do it with the photography slant 387 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 3: as well, if you want to learn photography on it 388 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:25,400 Speaker 3: at the same time. 389 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 1: So let's talk from here about the contest that made 390 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 1: you famous. The deadline this year is June thirtieth. What 391 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:51,480 Speaker 1: a sparing photographers need to know to submit their work. 392 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:53,399 Speaker 2: So it's super simple. 393 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 3: There's different categories, but ultimately you can have a portfolio 394 00:20:57,400 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 3: which is a group of images. You can have individual 395 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:04,040 Speaker 3: and if you're under sixteen you can enter the junior category. 396 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:06,880 Speaker 2: You enter on our website. 397 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:11,199 Speaker 3: Which is Comedy Wildlife Photo dot Com, and you just 398 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,719 Speaker 3: fit in a very simple registration form like all these websites, 399 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 3: and then you enter your pictures and that's it. There's 400 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 3: no payment, you're done, and we then go through the 401 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 3: images over the summer and by October we announce the 402 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 3: finalists and then in December we have for award ceremony 403 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:38,400 Speaker 3: in London on the River opposite houses of Parliament. It's 404 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 3: not complicated. Like I said at the beginning, Paul and 405 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 3: I are not complicated people. We want this was a 406 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,360 Speaker 3: simple thing, and as we were trying to hold onto 407 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 3: the simplicity of it all, you enter on the website 408 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,720 Speaker 3: and then you're done. As I said, if you're worried 409 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:56,680 Speaker 3: about us abusing copyright or taking art to images, we 410 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 3: make sure before we use anyone's images that they're actually 411 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 3: happy with what they've signed in the first place. And 412 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 3: sometimes people say, actually I didn't realize what it was 413 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 3: because I don't read terms and conditions and we see it. 414 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 2: Don't worry. Totally understand. 415 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: You have a whole series of categories. Do people need 416 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,360 Speaker 1: to enter under one of those categories. 417 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,160 Speaker 3: It makes it easier from an organization point of view 418 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 3: for us. So if you've got an underwater shot of 419 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 3: a clownfish, there's the underwater category. If it's a lion, 420 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 3: it will go in the animals on the land category. 421 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,160 Speaker 3: If it's a duck, it will be in the animals 422 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 3: in the air category. Last year, we had an eagle 423 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 3: that had swooped down and caught a fish and then 424 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 3: swooped off again but dropped the fish, and when the 425 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 3: picture was taken, the eagle was in front of the 426 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:43,720 Speaker 3: fish and it looked like the fish. 427 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 2: Was chasing the eagle in the air. 428 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,960 Speaker 3: So we got a lot of emails from that author saying, 429 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 3: is this animals in the air? 430 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 2: Is this animals in the water? 431 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,680 Speaker 3: I don't know what's category and which said look, but 432 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,000 Speaker 3: in any category you want, because if we see an 433 00:22:58,040 --> 00:22:59,200 Speaker 3: image that's funny, we will. 434 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 2: Make sure it ends up in the correct category. 435 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 3: We're certainly not so difficult that we'd say, well, you 436 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:04,400 Speaker 3: put it in the wrong category. 437 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 2: So you can't win. 438 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:07,920 Speaker 3: The good images will rise to the top because it's 439 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 3: Paul Me and Michelle, who's the third important cog in this, 440 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 3: who go through all the images and then we give 441 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:19,440 Speaker 3: the top seventy to the judges, to about fifteen judges. 442 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,439 Speaker 1: So you have a junior category under sixteen and a 443 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,600 Speaker 1: young photographer category under twenty five. 444 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 3: Yes, so that's the Nikon category. And it's slightly awkward 445 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,239 Speaker 3: because they want the youth to get into photography rightly so, 446 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:38,680 Speaker 3: and so if you're sixteen to twenty five, that's a category, 447 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,600 Speaker 3: and if you're under sixteen, that's a separate category. 448 00:23:42,240 --> 00:23:44,480 Speaker 1: You have a video clip category, which I guess is 449 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:46,680 Speaker 1: what the Eagle and the Fisher came out of, where 450 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: you can interrupt to two video clips. Each one can 451 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,479 Speaker 1: be no more than fifteen seconds. Do you get an 452 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: increasing number of videos? 453 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 3: We do slowly, slowly oddly, I thought when we opened 454 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 3: that video category about six years ago, we had about 455 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 3: ten entries, none of which were funny, so we didn't 456 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 3: have a winner that year. We're quite strict on that 457 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,000 Speaker 3: if it's not humorous, there won't be a winner. And 458 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 3: now we get about two to three hundred we're trying 459 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,679 Speaker 3: to push that because actually I think that's a huge market, 460 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 3: particularly with TikTok, and people seem to prefer the short 461 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 3: movies to the still image. 462 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:23,880 Speaker 2: There's benefits to both. 463 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,560 Speaker 3: Obviously, books and calendars work better with a still image 464 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,159 Speaker 3: than a moving image. We don't get loads of entries, 465 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,280 Speaker 3: but we always get now at least ten funny ones, 466 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,239 Speaker 3: which I guess in the whole scheme of things we 467 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,240 Speaker 3: want to show people funny things. We only need fifty 468 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 3: excellent still images and we only need probably four great videos. 469 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 3: There's some amazing videos I see on social media that 470 00:24:48,119 --> 00:24:51,120 Speaker 3: never get entered into our competition. I think because it's 471 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:52,159 Speaker 3: the name of it. 472 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,440 Speaker 1: What kind of tips do you have for aspiring photographers 473 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 1: in terms of getting a great comedy wildlife image? 474 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 3: Patients would probably be the first one, but also you 475 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,119 Speaker 3: don't have to go to the Serengetti or East Africa 476 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 3: to get a great shot. We had a pigeon shot 477 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,720 Speaker 3: in Glasgow in Scotland which didn't win but came third. 478 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 3: I think, and remember that any animal that isn't your 479 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,440 Speaker 3: dog or your cat or cow or horse pretty much 480 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 3: is going to be wild. 481 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:26,399 Speaker 2: So we get a lot of squirrel entries. 482 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 3: So the first thing I'd say is patients, because if 483 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 3: you see animal behavior and it might be a squirrel 484 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 3: out of your window. As the winner from Tampa Bay 485 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,920 Speaker 3: told me a few years ago, she said, I just 486 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 3: see the squirrels running up and down a tree. And 487 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:42,959 Speaker 3: I sat there with my camera for twenty minutes and 488 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 3: now and again I started to recognize repeated behavior. The 489 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:47,879 Speaker 3: squirrels would do the same sort of thing, and then 490 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:50,200 Speaker 3: I just pressed the button and I got the picture 491 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 3: I wanted. So that's the patient side. The positive thing 492 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,879 Speaker 3: is you can do that wherever you are in the world. 493 00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 3: If there's any kind of wildlife, it could be insects. 494 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 3: We've had an amazing entry this year of an ant 495 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 3: leaping from a leaf. I can't really describe it, but 496 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 3: it's one of the funniest things I've seen. So I'm 497 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 3: pretty sure that will make it through to the finalists. 498 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,200 Speaker 2: But that's just an ant, and an ant is wild. 499 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 3: And the third thing is have your camera with you, 500 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 3: because I think a lot of aspiring photographers tend to 501 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 3: feel that they should take their camera out when the 502 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 3: light is right or when it's the perfect conditions, and 503 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 3: actually you should always have your camera with you. 504 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:28,880 Speaker 2: First. 505 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 3: You don't know what's going to happen, so you need 506 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 3: to be ready. But also the hardest thing about this 507 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 3: competition is it's got to be funny. There's a heavy 508 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,960 Speaker 3: amount of chance in what the animal does. You don't 509 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 3: know what the animal is going to do. You can 510 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:46,560 Speaker 3: see the repeated behavior and maybe get lucky, but have 511 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:50,200 Speaker 3: your camera with you at all times, and be critical 512 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,679 Speaker 3: of your own work because we do get of the 513 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 3: whatever twelve thousand entries we got last year, maybe five 514 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:02,680 Speaker 3: thousand people didn't really need to enter because they were 515 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:07,520 Speaker 3: either not at all funny or very badly shot, you know, 516 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 3: out of focus, you could barely see what the image was. 517 00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:12,680 Speaker 3: So a bit of self criticism is good if you 518 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:14,920 Speaker 3: want to win the competition. If you want to get 519 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 3: involved and enter the picture and hope, then go for it. 520 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 1: I'm very curious because so many people nowadays, as the 521 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:25,640 Speaker 1: cameras have improved dramatically, walk around with their phone taking pictures. 522 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,439 Speaker 1: Can they enter those pictures or is a problem with 523 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:30,200 Speaker 1: pictures taken by phone? 524 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:31,280 Speaker 2: Excellent question. 525 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:33,760 Speaker 3: You can use your phone, and the smartphones are so 526 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,600 Speaker 3: good now that actually the quality is there. It's easier 527 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,360 Speaker 3: to use a real camera because you can take pictures 528 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 3: faster in terms of keeping your finger pressed on the button, 529 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 3: and you can zoom in and zoom out without ruining 530 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,919 Speaker 3: the quality of the image. So if you have a 531 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 3: real camera, you're going to have a better chance of 532 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:58,760 Speaker 3: taking a sharp, inspiring image, but the phones can be used. 533 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 3: The technical course side of these is that we only 534 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:06,880 Speaker 3: really need a file that's going to be about thirty megabytes, 535 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 3: so from that we can do the competition. Your pictures 536 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 3: can be printed and put poster a size for exhibitions 537 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 3: or for the awards night. So although there's a better 538 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,159 Speaker 3: chance as a photographer of taking a better picture with 539 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,119 Speaker 3: a real camera than there is with a smartphone, some 540 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:26,119 Speaker 3: of the latest smartphones pictures are incredibly good, so you 541 00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 3: don't have to go out and buy the best. 542 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 2: Thing you can find in the world. Your smartphone may 543 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:31,200 Speaker 2: well be good enough. 544 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,520 Speaker 1: If a listener having listen to you, is inspired, where 545 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:35,320 Speaker 1: do they go to enter? 546 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 3: So go to our website www dot Comedy, Wildlife, Photo 547 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:46,760 Speaker 3: dot com Bit of a mouthful and there's a big 548 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,360 Speaker 3: button that says enter now, and it will take you 549 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,600 Speaker 3: straight to a registration page and then it will say, 550 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 3: enter your pictures and you can put them in the 551 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:57,840 Speaker 3: right categories, or you can make a mistake and we'll 552 00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 3: forgive those mistakes. 553 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: Tom, I want to think thank you for joining me. 554 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:05,800 Speaker 1: The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are accepting entries now at 555 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: Comedywildlife Photo dot com. Even if you aren't planning to nner, 556 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: go to their website. Look at all the great photos 557 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: of animals have been taking over the years. They're really 558 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,400 Speaker 1: fun to look at, and they do both make you 559 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:19,440 Speaker 1: feel better and remind you of the importance of conservation. 560 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: So Tom, I really appreciate both way you've spent your 561 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 1: life doing and your willingness to talk with us today. 562 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 2: Well, thank you very much. It's been a pleasure and 563 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:27,520 Speaker 2: an honor. 564 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,960 Speaker 1: Thank you to my guest, Tom Solomon. You can learn 565 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: more about the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards on our show 566 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 1: page at Newtsworld dot com. Newsworld is produced by Gagerstree 567 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Guarnsey Sloan. Our 568 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,440 Speaker 1: researcher is Rachel Peterson. The artwork for the show was 569 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 1: created by Steve Penley. Special thanks to the team at 570 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 1: Gingistree sixty. If you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll 571 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 1: go to Apple Podcasts and both rate us with five 572 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: stars and give us a review so others can learn 573 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: what it's all about. Right now, listeners of newts World 574 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 1: can sign up for my three free weekly columns at 575 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,160 Speaker 1: gingrishfe sixty dot com slash newsletter. I'm Newt Gingrich. 576 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:11,520 Speaker 2: This is Newtsworldline