What Funny Wildlife Photos Can Teach Us About Life

If you have ever gone out with a camera to try and capture animals in the wild doing something interesting, you might have felt that moment of elation when you manage to capture the magic moment. Once in a while, that image might even be something funny.

This week, the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards announced their range of finalists and the choices are exactly as fun as you would hope. The rules of the competition say there is no digital manipulation of AI editing allowed, promising that the organizers "have the finest team of digital detectives on the planet to make sure every image is verified. These guys are serious pixel Sherlocks, so pay attention, no cheating!"

In a time of constantly filtered or retouched images and plenty of deepfakes, this idea feels more refreshing than ever. Getting that perfect angle requires either perfect luck or plentiful patience. Usually, it’s patience.

This is a rare competition that reminds us of the therapeutic power of meditatively waiting for that perfect shot and actually getting it. As an amateur photographer myself, I know that feeling of elation is really not like anything else. All of us should make more time to take photos like this.