Скачать или смотреть ** Fritz Pölking Junior Prize ** | Florian Smit – Bearer of bad tidings

In medieval times, the appearance of Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus) was considered a warning of looming misfortune, hence the rather unfair German name of this fascinating bird species: Unglückshäher, “misfortune jay”. Quite contrary to their reputation, this small corvid species provided me with some unforgettably happy moments in Lapland.
On a trip around Scandinavia in the autumn of 2018, I had intended to concentrate on landscape photography. While on a hike through a coniferous forest, I accidentally noticed three Siberian jays who seemed to be following the same path.
It is in the nature of these birds to show fairly little timidity towards people. They are always driven by their curiosity. Within a few days the animals had gotten so used to me that they often awaited me chirping away in the early morning hours. The sun lit up the birds' plumage in wonderful shades of orange that contrasted with the otherwise gnarled and rather dull surroundings of the pine forest. Looking at this scene, I could not help myself: I abandoned my original idea of landscape photography and instead dedicated my time to a series on Siberian jays.
And that is how I came to spend up to 14 hours a day in a small section of the forest. Some days I was lucky and I could implement my image idea within a few minutes, but often I waited for hours with no jay to be seen at all. Then my waiting would be rewarded and I would watch one of these birds hopping along the forest floor looking for remaining blueberries, or gliding elegantly from branch to branch. I enjoyed every moment with these lively creatures.



** Winner of the Fritz Pölking Junior Prize 2020 **
Florian Smit, GDT – Germany

Florian Smit works as a professional nature photographer who lives with his wife Lisa Marie in an old farmhouse near Bremervörde (Germany).
Since his early childhood, he has felt this pull to spend time in nature. He has traveled all over Europe with his parents in self-built expedition vehicles. The camera joined him a bit later when he was about 8 years old and has remained his travel companion ever since.
In 2012, he left secondary school without graduating and began professional training as a photographer. He completed this training in summer 2015 as one of the top three graduates in Germany. Since then he has been a professional freelance photographer – doing his own projects throughout the world, selling fine art prints, running workshops, writing for renowned magazines, giving lectures, and presenting audio-visual shows.
Together with his wife Lisa Marie, he follows his life's dream of traveling. They have known each other since school and have been living together for almost ten years.

http://www.floriansmit.com
http://www.gdtfoto.de