This yr’s profitable pictures from the Patagonia Photo Contest have been introduced – amongst them two pictures depicting a hen which, traditionally, Incan communities revered for its energy, power and freedom, contemplating the species sacred.
I’m speaking concerning the Andean condor, a vulture native to the South American highlands, which right now represents a nationwide image for a number of international locations throughout this a part of the world, together with Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Chile.
Overall competition winner and self-professed “lover of nature and its creatures,” Argentinian Mauricio Rossanigo, snagged the title of Patagonia Photographer of the Year for his body of a pair of condors embracing one another beneath the long-lasting Fitz Roy massif (above).
“We waited quietly, until suddenly condors began appearing above us, more and more, until some landed on the ledges,” Mauricio told Patagon Journal, the competitors organizer. “Then the pair arrived and the magic happened: they began to nuzzle and interact so beautifully we couldn’t believe it, and all it took was the right click.”
Condors usually mate for all times. They type long-term, monogamous pair bonds, staying collectively year-round to share courtship rituals, nesting and elevating their younger. Mauricio’s shot completely captures this, as does the title he gave it: For a Lifetime.
While Mauricio took the general win together with his endearing condor picture, French photographer Timothy Dhalleine‘s Flight of the Condor (beneath) snagged the Readers’ Choice Award. His majestic shot reveals two condors with their enormous wingspans on full show as they soared above Laguna Sofía (Lake Sofia) within the Magallanes area of Chilean Patagonia.
The largest flying birds in the world by combined weight and wingspan, condors can weigh up to 33lbs (15kg) and their enormous wingspans can exceed 10ft (3m). They glide on thermal air currents and have been documented soaring for over five hours – and traveling over a hundred miles – without a single flap of their wings.
“These animals are powerful but fragile, and they’re in danger, especially in northern South America, where they’ve disappeared in some places,” Timothy told Patagon Journal. “It’s crucial to remember how important it is to protect them.”
Patagon Journal hosts the photograph contest each two years to have fun Patagonia throughout panorama, wildlife, tradition, and environmental picture classes. The 2026 version attracted 1,826 beginner {and professional} photographers from 12 international locations, all competing to doc the distinctive character of southern Argentina and Chile.
Each class winner took house retail reward playing cards value round US$400 (roughly £300 / AU$580), whereas runners-up obtained customized mountaineering gear. As the general competitors winner, Rossanigo additionally obtained a Sony A6700 digital camera and a six-day pictures journey to Chile’s scenic Puelo area.
You may also like…
Discover our knowledgeable decide of the best cameras for wildlife photography. With these rigs you’ll freeze flying birds for crystal clear frames.