He had secretly forgotten that he had submitted the photo for the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, but that didn’t make him any less proud on Thursday when wildlife photographer Alex Pansier learned that his photo is in the final. De Ossenaar took the photo ‘normally’ in a forest between Schaijk and Oss.
Sometimes Alex takes ten days to get the picture he wants. “This photo was successful on the first day,” he says proudly. The photographer previously won the audience award in a National Geographic photo competition. Then he also took a picture with a squirrel.
He knows a lot about the animals. “Of course you always look at the walking routes of such a squirrel. If you know, he often jumps from that branch to that branch, then you focus on that and try to photograph him in mid-air.” That’s how his photo, entitled ‘Jumping Jack’, came about perfectly.
“If I go really far abroad, it is more towards the cold regions.”
Many photographers travel all over the world to capture the perfect images, but Alex often stays in his own province. “I take a lot of photos around here, but I also travel through the Netherlands and Belgium.” Sometimes the Ossenaar also looks a little further outside the door. “If I go really far abroad, it is more towards the cold regions.”
A long trip is also planned for next year. “Then I’ll go to Japan, because they have snow monkeys there and I really want to photograph them one day.
“I’d rather be behind the camera than in front of it.”
Alex’s photos go all over the world and that’s why he gets a lot of media attention. He likes to do interviews for the newspaper and on the radio, but with his face on TV: he doesn’t actually do that. “I’d rather be behind the camera than in front of it,” says the award-winning photographer with a laugh. “I don’t like being in the spotlight very much.”
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