Almuñequero, Francisco Mingorance has done his hometown proud by achieving First Prize in the Landscapes and Plants section of the prestigious international National Wildlife Photo Contest 2012. His entry competed against 28,000 other photos, divided into seven categories, sent in from all around the world, so it was no mean feat.
His winning photograph was a night shot taken on a beach near the village of Castañeras (Asturias) and is entitled, “The Star of Silence,” reproduced in this article. The star in question is the retreating sea foam under the moonlight, which has a starburst effect.
Francisco considers that the Beach of Silence is “probably the most beautiful beach in western Asturias, Spain.” To capture this “star” of sea foam on the shore, he photographed the scene during low tide at night using a long exposure. Lights from the village and a lighthouse shine in the background. “After getting this image, I have visited the beach many times,” he said, “but I’ve never seen this star with the same perfection.”
But this international prize is just one of many that this photographer has achieved this year: he also won a prize in the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012, as well as the GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012, which are two of the most prestigious competitions of this kind in the world.
Francisco admits that he was very surprised by this new prize as he was competing against photographers using some of the most spectacular national parks in the world.
One thing is for certain, our Francisco Mingorance has probably become the most prize-awarded Spanish nature photographer of all time with almost 100 international prizes awarded in the last three years.
Francisco is compiling his next book at the moment, entitled, En Tierra de Luces & En Tierra de Estrellas, which is a tour of Spanish nature scenes expressed in 100 prize-winning images.
Enhorabuena, Franciso, and we look forward to see your forthcoming photography book.
(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)