Jury

Hans Joachim Fünfstück

He developed a love of nature early on in his childhood from walks with his parents.  After completing an apprenticeship in brewing and malting and having worked in various other roles, he joined the former Institut für Vogelkunde (Institute of Ornithology) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1981. Since then, he has been employed by the current State Ornithological Institute/Bavarian Environment Agency.
He also maps birds and other animals on a voluntary basis. For over 25 years, he has devoted much of his time to the golden eagle in particular.
He has been a keen nature photographer for over 20 years, specialising in bird photography. His photographs are published in various national and international books and newspapers and he has been a permanent member of the editorial team at the magazine 'Der Falke' since 1999.
He has been a member of the Landesbund für Vogelschutz (LBV) since 1970 and is chairman of the local Garmisch-Partenkirchen group and a member of the regional executive committee. He is a member of the advisory committee for the Ornithological Society and the Deutsche Seltenheitenkommision (German Rarities Committee). He has studied bird life on numerous trips, both as a tour guide and a private guest, which have taken him to six continents so far.

Peter Grobben

Peter Grobben (1961. Rotterdam) is a passionate photographer, who gets more known and seen thanks to his passion for photographing nature. As a child, his interests to be in and around nature were bigger then to be in the city, and he would stroll around in the polder areas near the big city of Rotterdam. Being outside, spotting birds and other wildlife turned into a staying passion, a real nature experience, resulting in present-day, nature photographer. This experience and snapping photos as a hobby are for Peter his life interpretation and he attempts to visit lot of extraordinarily and interesting eco destinations each year. Next to Peter working fulltime in the building section (there must be money in the pocket), he also works in spare time for Swarovski Optik BeNeLux, Birding Breaks travel agent, and he does freelance work for the Dutch Bird Protection foundation of the Netherlands. His articles and photos appear more and more often in magazines and he gets questions for photo assignments, for example making photos for model magazines.

Ulrich Lanz

For almost two decades, Ulrich Lanz has led various species protection projects for endangered birds for the Landesbund für Vogelschutz in Bayern e.V. (Bavarian Society for the Protection of Birds - LBV). As part of this, he spends a great deal of time observing and documenting birds both professionally and in his own time. However, he is also an active nature photographer and is involved in selecting image materials for LBV brochures, flyers and other publications as part of the society's PR activities. He is therefore familiar with the challenge of successfully capturing an attractive subject in a photograph, and also with the difficult task of judging whether or not a photographer has mastered this challenge.

Dominic Mitchell

Dominic Mitchell is the founder and Managing Editor of Birdwatch, Europe's leading monthly magazine for keen birders. The author of hundreds of articles about birding, he has also written several books, contributed to other journals and magazines and is a keen bird photographer (as demonstrated on his blog, http://dominicmitchell.blogspot.com/, and website, www.dominicmitchell.com). He also acts as Photographic Editor of the London Bird Report, is Chairman of Alexandra Park Ornithological Group and a former Council Member of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East, and when time permits guides birders and tour groups in Britain, Europe and further afield.

Luciano Vinco

Luciano Vinco, lives and works in Bosco Chiesanuova (VR - Italia); he began taking photos in 1977, his works have been published on various magazines in Italy and abroad.
Since 1984 Luciano cooperates with the photo agency Panda Photo, besed in Roma. In 1999 he created and directed for 3 years the nature photo magazine "Asferico".
He has been member of the jury for various nature photo competitions, among which the  "Campionato Italiano di Fotografia Naturalistica" and  “Fotografare il Parco”.

Sharon Stiteler

Sharon Stiteler was given a Peterson Field Guide to Birds when she was seven years old and snapped, she loves birds, and it’s just the way she’s wired. After ending a successful career with Universal Exports in 1997, she made it her goal to get paid to go birding. She runs one of the most popular birding blog, Birdchick.com and has been in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and on NBC Nightly News as well as making regular appearances on Twin Cities’ TV and radio stations. She’s a professional speaker and storey teller and writing can be found in several publications including WildBird Magazine, Outdoor News, and Birding Business. She wrote the books Disapproving Rabbits and City Birds/Country Birds. When she’s not digiscoping or banding birds, she’s a part time park ranger and award-winning beekeeper.