Robert Irwin, son of the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, is already an award-winning photographer, but has now added further accolades to his CV at a surprisingly young age, after having an image of his receive high commendation at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards in London.
Clearly inspired by the work of his father before him, Irwin, who was only two at the time of his dad’s death, received the special mention for his picture of a huntsman spider eating a desert tree frog. The photo was taken during a month-long visit to a remote swamp in Queensland, Australia, and will be exhibited in 60 museums across 6 continents.
Commenting on the achievement, he said:
So very proud for my photography to be highly commended in the world's most prestigious wildlife photography competition, Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards, here in London.
Honored to be part of the event, among some of the greatest photographers of all time. Congratulations to all of the other amazing commended and winning images.
It’s been a good year for Irwin, as he was also selected as a Highly Honored Winner at the Nature's Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards in November.
You can see more of his work over at his website.
Lead image credit: Pixabay via Pexels.
Good on him, well done!
Quite the highly honored young man. I just hope hes not being honored for being the son of Steve Irwin.
just checked his gallery.
Well, the landscapes category should be removed completely, does more harm than good.
His wildlife photos are just average.
Some good ones, some mediocre ones, some slightly biased towards "bad".
He's definitely getting some slack given his age and his name.
Get a life. The kid is only 14. Perhaps he will be as impressive as you someday.
I'm not pointing my finger at the kid.
If anyone is to blame, it's the judging panel.
Being a celebrity's son doesn't mean they should get handicaps against other equally or more skilled/talented kids out there who are most likely less wealthy and "unlucky" to be the son/daughter of a normal, not famous parent.
I hope we all would take the opportunity to encourage any child pursuing their dreams instead of tearing them down. Instead of spending his time playing Fortnite, he’s pursuing his dreams and doing well. Nothing wrong with that.
Nothing wrong with what you're saying, but the handicap he got thanks to who's son he is, isn't fair to other equally or more talented or skilled youngsters out there.
Same applies to other celebrity kids who got their "publications" cut out for them easily like Beckham's kid.
Can we just get back to encouraging one another? Who cares if he got a little assistance from his dad’s name? He’s a kid. I hope one day my own children will benefit from any good work I may do.
He’s 14. A kid. As a former high school teacher and FFA advisor, Ive seen first hand how important encouragement can be during these developmental years, regardless of who the parent is.
Let’s build him up, encourage him, and hopefully he will be a great advocate for the photographic community....and be a great human being too. After all, there are more important things in life than photo galleries, competitions, and awards.
i'm guessing by 14 you had already won your first world press photo award.
With a spider with cut out legs at the joints and landscapes with burned out skies. I definitely did.
And so did David Beckham's child with the terrible portraits published last year ;)
I think his work is very good. Nicely done and good for him.
Sour grapes.
Give him a couple more years, and he'll surpass you. And he wouldn't need exotic places as a crutch.
Sure. Waiting for that moment. For the time being he doesn't know how not to burn his skies.
Regarding the sour grapes... it's not my fault your wine stinks.
Surely he won't need exotic places, he can burn skies and shoot landscapes with terrible composition in his backyard.
I love it when people get defensive over "celebrities and their children" without realizing the slack and handicap they are getting.
I bet you loved the terrible portraits Beckham's son took and published in famous style magazines too.
Lol, what? The "Sour Grapes" was in reference to you. Please please please don't tell me you're just now brushing up on your '80's comebacks. smh
I love it when the triggered get all angry and bitter and cry about "celebrities and their children". What took you decades to accomplish, some of them are doing it in just years.
As for Beckham's photos, I vaguley remember the article, but, don't remember him or his photos. No doubt, your're jealous of him also.
The only bitter jealous person here is you. I for one don't care at all. So take your sour grapes and put them up yours truly.
Haha, you're the "grown-up" picking on that 'lil kid just because he's famous and you're, well, not.
But, hey, I have an old pair of "big boy pants" I've put on from decades and decades ago. Perhaps, I can gift it to you as a hand-me-down and you could put 'em on. It may be a little loose but you could still grown into it. Not likely, but, what the hell. I try to be optimistic.
You got me. You are so smart.
Not seeing anything worthy in your gallery either..and you're 30. Jealous much?
That's too bad. But don't worry, you're clueless about landscape photography, so I don't care what you think you know you can judge and comment on.
Me being jealous ? haha, I'm flattered.
The kid had to deal with the very public death of his father and still went on to raise tens of thousands of dollars for his family's nonprofit wildlife organization through his photography, has met with world leaders to discuss wildlife protection, has published books, and is already following in his father's footsteps as a tv personality, all before he's even grown up. But nah, let's tear him down with some hollow, unsolicited "critiques" on the internet because of our fragile egos; that'll show him!
By the way, look up the competition rules. The judging was blind; they had no idea it was Robert Irwin's shot.
Never heard of the kid until the article piqued my interest. His dad--sure. Not knocking the kid or his accomplishments I merely stated that sometimes sympathy can be a legacy and being famous for a parent dying spectacularly gets you a seat at the table as well. As for his work--well, it is well done yes; the mechanics are definitely there. Is it amazing for a fourteen year old? Not to me. I wish him sucsess on his own merit.
I actually spoke with Robert when we were being presented with prizes at the Nature's Best Photography Awards at the Smithsonian earlier this year. While his photography was not the most outstanding there, he has an infectious enthusiasm about conservation and wildlife that carries him forwards. From that context, I feel that he accurately portrays a more documentary style of photography than the stylized images we see in a lot of these competitions.
We bonded over our mutual interest in the conservation of marine life, especially turtles. We actually never talked once about his father. It's a real shame: he might not be the best, and he has gotten a bit of fame outside of the competition as a result of his family (the judging was blind, so there was no way for this to have benefited him in any way), but all of his work as an individual is simply attributed to the Steve Irwin legacy.
I genuinely believe that Robert is going to distinguish himself in the future, whether it be as a photographer, or as a passionate conservationist.
The only thing I can knock him for is being a little short: I guess it's true that people seem taller on TV.
(Robert and I are pictured below, with me standing on his left)
Beautiful work, sometimes celebrity kids get boosted do to their name profile. This kid isn't one of them, 5 seconds looking at his work tell me he is the real deal. Breathtaking work for someone so young.
To the critics here it's almost certain photographer names were not know during judging. There are always complaints after most photo contests. Robert is a very accomplished young man. I was no fan of how his father, Steve Irwin, treated animals.
Good for him. His dad would be proud.
So he didn't take the header photo.. why use a stock photo in an article about a photographer? Especially since the stock photo is more impressive than the award winning one.. doesn't make sense
Well that was savage.
Exactly.
Click baity
He’s an impressive young guy. I’m always amazed when he’s on Fallon and, at 14, is so knowledgeable, well-spoken, and quick-witted.
I looked at his other work and the kid isn't bad. There's some good work in there. and he shoots Canon so I'm now a fan. lol! Who cares if his name got him started. Good for him! BUT I would agree that the article's main/title photo was misleading since that wasn't the photo that was commended but that's not his fault.
At the age of 14 I think he's doing a great job and no doubt if he continues photography, he will be creating some amazing images in the future but...
Robert didn't win the competition, he was high commended. I've read a number of articles (including this one) regarding Robert's highly commended images in this world's most prestigious wildlife photography competition in London and I have yet to read any acknowledgment to the actual winner of the competition. Because of Robert's name, the actual winner seems to have been swept under the rug so yes, being an Irwin, it has given him extra exposure.