Award Winners of DPOTY 2024

Overall Winner

Fallow deer by Bence Máté.

This stunning photograph showing a fallow deer under a starry night sky is the overall winner of this year's competition, and Hungarian photographer, Bence Máté, takes away £5000 for his exceptional image.

To discover how Bence created his image, please watch the video below.

About Bence Máté:

Bence Máté is one of the world's most successful photographers and is known as being the first person to have used one-way glass in a hide to effectively conceal the photographer from flighty subjects.

Using his innovation to create spectacular wildlife images brought widespread attention, and resulted in the documentary film, "The Invisible Wildlife Photographer". Throughout the world many other photographers now benefit from Bence's breakthrough to make their own outstanding images.

Bence is the only person to have won the prestigious 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' competition as a youngster (2002) and as an adult (2010); now he has the title of 'Deer Photographer of the Year 2024' to add to his long list of international awards.

During the following interview recorded at his farm in Hungary - that he manages for sustainable living for nature and people alike - Bence describes how his natural interest in nature, technology and physics led him into photography, the considerable effort he will go to in order to create his photographs and how he made his title winning deer image.

Young Deer Photographer of the Year

Sambar deer by Ishaan Kumar.

"The early morning fog rolled in over the wetlands of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. Amidst this dreamlike atmosphere, the silhouette of a sambar deer emerged, gracefully sprinting across the road and wading through neck-high water. Seeing the fog and the birds on the trees in the background, I zoomed out and turned it into a habitat shot, showcasing the beauty of dawn at Bharatpur in winter. After capturing a series of five shots, the sambar deer reached a small island and vanished into the foliage, leaving the forest in a tranquil silence, with only the melodic calls of birds echoing through the misty air."

Watch the interview below for more details about how this photograph was made.

About Ishaan Kumar:

Ishaan Kumar is an Indian photographer currently living in Singapore who is passionate about capturing the beauty of all types of flora and fauna.

Having been shortlisted for WPY in 2019 and now winning the inaugural 'Young Deer Photographer of the Year' title, Ishaan is a young photographer of distinction who is likely to feature in the winners list of other photography competitions in the future.

In the following interview, Ishaan talks about his photography, why India is a special place for anyone looking for a photography safari and how he made his title winning deer image.

Category Winners

Portraits: Red deer by Karol Waszkiewicz.

"To capture this image, I arranged a small, portable hide along the lake shore before dawn, anticipating that deer might traverse this area on their way back to the daytime resting grounds in the woodland, based on past experiences. As the first light of dawn emerged, I observed a mist enveloping the lake, creating a unique and atmospheric setting. For about 1.5 hours, only the calls of little grebes and mallards echoed, with no sign of deer. Suddenly, the tranquil ambiance was disrupted by the splashing noise of deer approaching from the right. Swiftly preparing my camera, I awaited the stag's appearance in the viewfinder. In a moment of glory, he paused, presenting a spectacular and sharply defined physique—a true prince, though not yet the reigning king of the area, as I fondly referred to him."

Open: Red deer by Nikki Humphrey.

"The conditions at Bushy Park were all heading in the right direction for some good 'breath' shots, I got myself into the right position and waited, luckily the stag didn't move much, but boy did he breathe. He huffed and bugled, and in the very still air, created this cloud of light around him which makes it looks a like a ghost in the mist. A very magical morning."

Habitat: Fallow deer by Bence Máté.

"The shadow of fallow deer sketches in front of the starry skies. Within the 45 seconds this image was taken the movement of the deer covered different parts of the skies, resulting in a ghostly effect."

Watch Bence's video above for the full details of how this photograph was made.

Behaviour: Roe deer by Graham Dixon.

"As I headed back to the car after an evening's wander, I spotted this roe kid in the distance running in my direction. I managed to hide behind a strainer post, even though I took lots of photos, in most of them, the youngster was obscured by the long grasses; as I had to raise the camera high above the grass, it eventually noticed me and wandered away."

Deer and Humanity: Red deer by Karol Waszkiewicz.

"Red deer stags are well-known for rubbing trees, shrubs, ferns, etc., during the rut to practise rutting behaviours and strengthen their neck muscles, which are crucial for fighting. They also place pieces of plants, mud or branches on their antlers to appear more impressive to potential opponents. This stag, as you can see, had a branch hanging down.

Unfortunately for the stag though, as he had practised somewhere in the farm fields, he ended up with plastic on his head that was meant to be used for baling straw. His vision was seriously limited; however, he managed to disentangle himself a few days later and was not hurt by other stags in the meantime."

In the following interview, Karol discusses his general approach to working with wild deer, as well as describing his top tips useful to anyone looking to improve their deer photography.

Judges' Choices

ChitaI / spotted deer by Parth Kansara.

"I photographed this group of spotted deer in Kanha National Park during my morning safari. At that time, I was taking shots of barasingha [swamp deer]; suddenly I saw a group of spotted deer behind our vehicle, and they were trying to cross the road.

I was using a 500mm lens on my Nikon D500 body. I framed a habitat shot in my mind with the long trees, morning light, the curving track and all five deer in. I rapidly changed my lens to 70-300mm, positioned my vehicle slightly across the track and waited for them to cross it." (Submitted to habitat category.)

Judge's comment: "The colours and physical elements in this image, along with the animals' action, so typical behaviour of this species of deer, make this a superb photograph. Congratulations to Parth Kansara for such a great capture."

Roe deer by Andreas Tratz.

"In January 2021, I was in Loitzendorf, Lower Bavaria, to try out my camouflage tent and photograph deer in the morning. So I went out the evening before to look for a good spot and took my camera with me, because you never know what will happen along the way. As I was just out of the small village, on a dirt road up the hill, I saw a group of deer grazing in a stubble field - I attached the lens to the camera and to a monopod. The remains of the plants offered enough protection for the deer that they behaved completely relaxed and so I was able to take some photos that I already had in mind to convert into monochrome, thanks to the strong contrast between the stubble and the white snow . During post-processing, I especially liked the pencil drawing effect." (Submitted to habitat category.)

Judge's comment: "An excellent example of a typical roe deer habitat, and you can just imagine, how the deer would be almost hidden in plain sight if it would have lain down in the field. I like how the deer was positioned towards the corner of the frame, giving an impression of isolation - even though this deer was part of a group; generally speaking, roe are one of the most solitary species of deer."

Red deer by Rachael Turner.

"I met up with a game keeper friend who took me to where he had seen the hinds with their calves, in hope I would be able to get a shot of a mum and baby . There were a few hanging around and they were not fussed about us being there , so I was able to move around slowly and and get some pictures. I didn’t expect them to be so relaxed that a calf would suckle right in front of me , and I was able to capture this intimacy . It was such a special moment . I didn’t stay long and left them to it." (Submitted to behaviour category.)

Judge's comment: "A wonderful intimate moment captured of a difficult behaviour to witness, far less photograph. I have seen side-on images of this behaviour before, but not from this angle. With the calf’s head perfectly framed by the hind’s rear legs, a rare moment is composed perfectly in an original way."

Red deer by Paul Madigan.

"This photo was taken in Ireland's County Kerry, at Killarney National Park, during the red deer rut. Deer enjoy hanging out near the edge of Lough Leane. My technique for capturing these shots involves arriving at my spot before dawn so I can get ready and set up my equipment without alerting the deer to my presence. I could spend hours patiently watching deer in their natural environment. This time, I saw a magnificent red stag searching for a mate by patrolling the water's edge. He had his head up high, strutting his stuff with pride." (Submitted to habitat category.)

Judge's comment: "The photographer, Paul Madigan, commented, 'a magnificent stag' - absolutely, what a stunning beast. Red deer mothers have to invest considerable amounts of energy to raise their young, and it this case, whichever hind gave birth to this beauty, her investment has clearly paid off handsomely. Her offspring has reached the physical stature that is at, or very near, the pinnacle for a red deer stag. A remarkable wild deer, looking very much in his prime (take a look at that neck!), and so well captured in its natural habitat."