Michael Bednar is a travel and documentary photographer based in Vancouver. A college degree in Natural Resource Management and related exploration of mountains, coasts and forests of Western Canada triggered in him the passion for photography. Started merely as a means of documenting his explorations, Bednar's love for traveling took him further abroad where he discovered the rich diversity of life and cultures in places like Africa, The Middle East and Asia. His worked has been published around the world. He continues to explore and build a library of images from around the world focusing on landscape, wildlife and portraits that work to capture the often profound relationships between people and their environments.
Through this post, hear from the photographer himself -- about his passion and the subjects he chooses to shoot.

"The Eagle Hunters of Mongolia was a project I worked on in 2006. It was the first project I shot digitally. I had also been influenced by the work of Phil Borges that year."

2010 always had an optimistic tone to it... like it was bottled up and just waiting to be unleashed. We felt a look at the year that culminated to its birth cannot be ignored. Too much happened in 2009 to be ignored. President Obama reached out far and wide for that smile he was looking for, but the King of Pop left without a last song. War and riots marked its territory, promising to return, while the swine flu crept in unnoticed behind masks. China and Germany were lit up with fireworks for their anniversaries, and the volcanoes elsewhere followed shortly. Yes, 2009 was a mixed bag, but all you photography lovers are in for a real treat. Here's our Editor's pick for 2009 Pictures of the Year...

The 2009 Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year, owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine, was chosen from a total of 43,135 entries from 94 countries. However, the veracity of the winning image by José Luis Rodríguez has been questioned and the National History Museum are today investigating the allegations against the winner, as reported in the Daily Mail.
In this post, take a look at the controversial image of the leaping wolf and images of the other winners from this year's competition.


Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year - Overall Winner
The Storybook Wolf
By José Luis Rodríguez
When José Luis realized he had got the shot of his dreams – one that he had even sketched on paper – he couldn't quite believe it. From the start, his fear had been that the wolves would be too wary. Iberian wolves have always been persecuted by people who see them as a threat to game and livestock (which they hunt when natural food is scarce) but also because of ignorance and superstition about the supposed danger they pose. Even though they have always lived close to humans, there are no verified incidences of them attacking people. José Luis risked a slow shutter-speed to reveal the moonlit sky and conjure up the atmosphere of the place. He switched from using his Nikon D2X to a Hasselblad so he could get the exact framing that he had in mind. What José Luis hopes is that his picture, 'showing the wolf's great agility and strength', will become an image that can be used to show just how beautiful the Iiberian wolf is and how the Spanish can be proud to have such an emblematic animal.
Equipment : Hasselblad 503CW with a 6x6 Fujichrome backing; Planar 80mm lens; Purpose-made Ficap infrared camera trap; 1/30 sec at f11; ISO 50
Image Credit : José Luis Rodríguez, Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009