Animal magic

The EISA Maestro 2023 photo contest was on the theme of The Animal Kingdom. Here we showcase the excellent images by the International winners

In addition to its awards for best photographic products of the year, which AP featured in our 5 September issue, the Expert Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) runs EISA Maestro – its own annual pan-European photography competition open to amateur and semiprofessional photographers. This year’s theme was The Animal Kingdom. The winning portfolios from each of the 16 participating EISA countries were judged together and the winners of the International contest have now been decided.

The overall winner was Magnus Berggren from Sweden, who takes home €1,500 and the EISA Maestro 2023 Gold Trophy. The UK’s winner, Angi Wallace, was second and wins €1,000 and a trophy, while third-placed Pål Hermansen from Norway wins €750 and a trophy. All three also have their portfolios featured in the 16 EISA photography magazines. The Public’s Choice Award went to Germany’s Mirjam Radke, who wins €1,000. We published Angi Wallace’s lovely portfolio in AP 18 July. Visit eisa.eu/maestro 

1st Magnus Berggren Sweden

Magnus Berggren took up photography in 2007, but it was not until some years later, in 2018, that he decided to focus on wildlife photography. ‘I started photographing small birds and just got hooked,’ he explains. ‘But I also like to photograph other animals, of course.’

His image style is distinctive and dramatic. ‘I try to plan how the background looks as I try to get the animal separated from the background. I want to attempt to show the beauty of the animal by editing the photos a bit dramatically to bring out their soul in the photos. I’ve been developing my style for a few years and it’s still evolving.’