Some 16,568 photos taken by 2,065 photographers of 73 different nationalities, the equivalent of €40,000 in prizes. These are the dizzying figures for the 2024 competition and the festival. It was Friday, late in the afternoon, that the results were announced at the socio-cultural center. After various tributes (to Stéphane Denizot in particular), the five members of the jury took the stage. “We took 2 and a half days to choose, based on criteria of aesthetics, beauty, but also history and information provided by the photo,” explains Roch Lorente, president of the jury.
It was a Swiss named Samuel Nugues, with his photo “Spring Giboulée”, who won the Grand Prize of the 2024 festival. His female tengmalm owl captivated the members of the jury for its ability to “feel inhabited”, as “we immerse ourselves, with her”. “It’s a species in sharp decline,” explains Samuel Nugues, who captured the moment in April 2024, in the Swiss Jura. “It’s a nocturnal owl, which is also why it’s little known. There was snow, it was during its breeding season. » This female owl simply calls the male to be supplied with voles.
The Young Photographers Grand Prize, awarded to participants under 16 years old, was awarded to Dario Fernandez Lagostena, with his photo “Among the ravenelles”. “I heard this warbler from the car,” the young Spaniard commented, in French please.
