Israeli Nature Photographer Amit Eshel Named 'Photographer of the 20 Years'
Israeli nature photographer Amit Eshel has won the prestigious "Photographer of the 20 Years" title at the Golden Turtle international competition in Moscow.
Israeli nature photographer Amit Eshel has achieved a career milestone by winning multiple awards at the Golden Turtle international photography competition in Moscow, including the prestigious "Photographer of the 20 Years" title.
Marking its 20th anniversary, the competition organizers evaluated all previous "Photographer of the Year" winners and their winning works from past decades to select the single best photographer in the competition's history. Eshel secured the top honor by an overwhelming majority, recognizing his extensive body of work, which features gelada baboons in Ethiopia, Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island in Canada, Pallas's cats in Mongolia, and ibex in Israel's Negev Desert.
In addition to the career-spanning accolade, Eshel captured first place in two major categories this year. In the "Animals in Their Natural Environment" category, he won with a dramatic shot of gelada baboons against the backdrop of the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia. In the "Animal Portraits" category, his intimate close-up of a pair of Arctic wolves in extreme sub-zero conditions on Canada's Ellesmere Island took the top prize.
Reflecting on the honor, Eshel expressed profound gratitude for the recognition from industry peers. "There are awards that recognize a single photograph, and there are those that recognize an entire journey," Eshel shared. Due to ongoing fieldwork on a confidential photography project in South America, Eshel was unable to attend the awards ceremony in Moscow.
