It’s always an exciting time of the year when Londoners converge on the Natural History Museum and the rest of the country and international jet setters plan their trips to the big smoke to see some of the coolest photography of the year. It’s nearly time for the grand opening of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 competition exhibition and as ever it’ll give you a chance to reflect on our relationship with the wildlife around us while also admiring some of the most impressive stills of them in their environment.
With a little over a month to go before the exhibition doors open there’s enough time to plan your trip well to make sure you get to see the display as early as possible without having to fight with a throng of bobbing heads to see anything. Obviously the opening weekend is going to be a mad rush, and in fact most weekends thereafter are probably going to be pretty busy. Our shout is to try to choose a sunny midweek day, something like a Tuesday 10am slot and you’ll have the best chance of seeing it all without the crush of the crowds (unless you like that sort of thing).
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition opens at the Natural History Museum on the 18th October 2013 going on until the 23rd March 2014, before it begins it’s UK tour for the rest of spring and summer. Inevitably, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are closed to allow all of the creatures on display to come to life roam around and gets pissed like the rest of us. Opening times are 10am until 5:50pm seven days a week, although the last entry time to get in is 5:15pm.
The exhibition is also open late on the last Friday of every month as a part of the Natural History Museum’s late nights. The late night opening also features live music, food, two bars and free reign in the Darwin Centre outdoor courtyard.
Tickets for the exhibition are £12 for adults and £6 for children and concessions. There’s also a family option that’s £33, which covers up to 2 adult tickets and 3 children. All tickets are already available to book online at the Natural History Museum website.
The 2013 competition has been running since the beginning of the year and the judges have now whittled through the tens of thousands of entrants to select the 100 finalists that form the exhibition. The commended images have already been announced and you can preview some of them with the Natural History Museum’s 2013 slideshow feature. The finalists will be announced on Tuesday 15th October along with the overall Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the annual awards ceremony.
Next year’s competition will be the 50th anniversary year, so it will be an even bigger draw for budding wildlife photographers. The competition opens on the 9th December 2013 for anyone looking to enter and there will be a 12 week window to get your shots in. Visit the the Natural History Museum’s entry page for more details.
