2022 National Geographic Taiwan Photo Contest – Ecological Sustainability – Winners Announcement Raising Environmental Awareness with Photography

The 2022 Taiwan Photo Contest is divided into five categories: “People”, “Place”, “Nature”, “Ecological Sustainability”, and “Adolescent”. The judging panel this year comprises National Geographic aerial photography specialist George Steinmetz; renowned Taiwan photographer Liu Chen Hsiang; Ke Chin Yuan, director of Taiwan environmental documentaries; and Lee Yung Shih, editor-in-chief of National Geographic magazine Chinese edition. An award ceremony was held on July 21. Sponsored by Wistron, the contest called for submissions on the theme “Ecological Sustainability” for the first time to raise environmental awareness.

Previously, submissions could be photography works that were taken anywhere in the world. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, only works taken in Taiwan were accepted. The total number of submissions received this year increased by 17% compared to previous years. Taking an example from the submission, “Chasing Tears”, in the Ecological Sustainability Category, Director Ke said that the work contains stunning images of “blue-colored tears” which are surprisingly a product of global warming and pollution. Such gentle contrast, as opposed to a strong visual impact, is considerably more meaningful as it draws people’s attention to earth’s ecosystem.

Award to the Winner of the Ecological Sustainability Category is presented by Chou Wen Ling, CEO of Wistron Foundation. The award ceremony was followed by a group photo of all award winners and the judging panel.

For the Ecological Sustainability Category, the contestants were asked to submit 5 photographs to tell a complete story about the ecosystem. However, only a few of the entries had told a story. After eliminating images that were overexposed, had poor visual effect, and were not in line with the contest theme (i.e., wrong scene, animal behaviors, etc.), the judging pandel finally selected a winner, the 1st runner up, 2nd runner up, and merit works. As an extension to the educational objective of the National Geographic's Photo Contest, Director Ke collaborated with the Winner of the Ecological Sustainability Category to capture images of a specific restoration site, to film stories about ecological sustainability, and to pass down their knowledge and skills of filming documentaries on ecological conservation.

Lee Yung Shih, editor-in-chief, advised the contestants to develop not only excellent photography skills but also the ambition to tell different stories in order to impress the judges. The excellent photography works submitted are expected to pique the interest and curiosity of the public and prompt people to respect, understand and preserve nature’s biodiversity.

Winner of the Ecological Sustainability Category — Yellow-Throated Marten, taken by Kao Shou Cheng