Winner of the 2023 Wiki Science Competition in the category of "People in Science"
The winning submission of People in Science category shows us a wildlife photographer wearing a ghillie suit. It was made by Giles Laurent.
More info and runners up available here:
https://www.wikisciencecompetition.org/2024/12/17/winners-of-wsc23-people-in-science/
Author comment:
I am a lawyer based in Switzerland and photography is my favorite hobby. I’ve been lucky enough to travel a lot and that’s what made me start photography, as it is such a great way of creating beautiful memories that can be seen again. In 2017 I got a taste for hiking and the magnificent natural landscapes that Mother Nature has to offer and that soon afterwards led me to take up landscape photography. After a hike during which I came into contact with wild ibexes, I enjoyed photographing them and very quickly developed a real passion for wildlife photography. Through my photographs I hope to share with the world the beauty of nature and animals.
Some wild animals are very difficult to approach without disturbing them, and I often wear a ghillie suit when I go looking for them. By remaining undetected, I can observe animal behaviour that would otherwise not be observable if the animal would have had knowledge of human presence.The camouflage also allows me to get closer to animals and get good photographs without disturbing them.
My main goal of the day when this picture was taken was to search for a group of wolves that was seen multiple times in the previous weeks in the area and that attacked a group of cows. Unfortunately I didn’t see wolves that day but that’s just nature!
