Winners: Picfair's Urban Wildlife Contest

Coyote standing on an urban street at night beneath a street lamp, with a second coyote visible in the background.

Andrew Interisano, a digital advertising specialist and an amateur photographer, has won Picfair's Urban Wildlife Photography Awards. Scroll to see all of the category winners! Of note, all of Picfair's profits on winners print sales will go to global conservation non-profit Re:Wild.

Interisano took the winning image when he found himself caught between the howling and yipping of two packs of coyotes. Interisano managed to create a powerful image of a coyote caught in the light and another in the distance, backlit, almost a glowing negative version of a coyote.

Winners were selected from over 6,000 entries by Picfair’s head of content Philip Mowbray and a panel of wildlife photographers and writers, including Melissa Groo, Andrew Budziak, Will Burrard-Lucas, and Florence Wilkinson. In reference to the winner, Groo noted:

The composition and mood of this photo are wonderful. I love the play between the light and the dark, and the eerie, almost sinister glowing eyes of the coyote in the dark. Even before you read the caption, you can tell there's a story unfolding here. And I so appreciate the photographer's desire — after he had grabbed a few frames — to put the camera down and fully experience a truly special, wild moment. 

Winner in the Nightlife Category: Austin Montero, Life Beyond the Sewer

Meerkat standing upright on hind legs in a narrow alleyway lit by warm street lights at night.

For Montero, the pandemic forced him to stay in a small town in Mexico. Which led him to finding animals using different parts of the city, sheltering under bridges, moving through aqueducts, or nesting along roads. 

Winner in the Daylight Category: Mano Aliczki, Window to the Salt Pan

Simple line drawing of a flamingo on white paper mounted on muddy ground near flooded water.

And, given I'm a Toronto guy, a winner in the Fancy Seeing You Here Category, Trash Panda, from Jill Finney

Raccoon peering out from inside a weathered metal pipe surrounded by frost-covered branches.

Finney has dreamed of photographing wildlife since she was a kid and only started seriously shooting at the age of almost 50, during the COVID lockdown. Nice work, Finney!

There were two other finalist images that immediately caught my eye:

Nicolas Bamberski's Tanning in Style

Squirrel perched on a concrete ledge with a blurred city skyline across the water in the background.

Susi Ryan's Wren and Chipmunk. I love how it seems like they're racing.

Bird in flight over a weathered picket fence with red barn wall background.

What a fun competition. I'm glad to see Picfair supporting Re:Wild. As we push further and further into wildlife habitats, as our cities grow in density, we're going to have to find a way to live alongside our friends.

Picfair powers over half a million photography portfolios around the world. Picfair's free store builder enables amateur and professional photographers to set the price and sell their images in multiple formats.

All images credited to winners. Lead image by Interisano.

Mark is a Toronto based commercial photographer and world traveller who gave up the glamorous life of big law to take pictures for a living.

Related Articles

No comments yet