Attila Szilágyi | nature photographer

Attila Szilágyi was born in 1974 in the surroundings of Hortobágy, in Balmazújváros. His whole life has been connected to this wide aired, mystical plain world. He grew up in a house on the edge of the village, where his playground was the plain behind the last houses. As a child, he didn’t suspect that the place where he played football with his friends was one of the most unique corners of Hortobágy, the so-called Nagy-szik. At that time, it was so natural that from the way of the ball, a Kentish plover “rolled away” and groups of avocets, godwits and pewits set off for the din. Later it filled him with sorrow to see the gradual disappearance of this wonderland. As a young man, he was interested in everything, but with time, the focus of his attention mostly turned on birds. The several days spent in the field and the unforgettable natural phenomena led him wishing not only to observe the beauty of nature but also to actively preserve it. As a founder of the Hortobágy Environment Protection Association and the ranger of Hortobágy National Park Directorate, he takes pains to return the gift he has received from this region.

Bence Máté | Wildlife photographer

Bence Máté is one of the most successful and world-renowned wildlife photographers of our country. He earned the title of the “invisible wildlife photographer” thanks to his special, self-designed one-was glass hides. He maintains such an ecosystem in his farm in Pusztaszer where the most diverse animal species settle, and from his secret hides, Bence can gain a direct view to the hidden world of animals. He is holder of several prestigious national and international awards, he won the title of “Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2010” in London that is considered as the Oscar of wildlife photography . He is one of the most successful photographers in the history of the international competition. His images were presented to the Hungarian audience at a huge-volume outdoor touring exhibition in 2019. Bence has travelled the world, but independent to his exotic photography adventures, his heart draws him to his “own wilderness”. When he has the time, he spends most of his time in his hides in Pusztaszer.

Éva Keleti | photographer

She is the leading figure of the society of Hungarian photography, with a Prima Primissima Award (2008), a Kossuth Award (2017) and the honorary president of National Association of the Hungarian Journalists. She started her career at the Hungarian Photo -later called MTI (Hungarian News Agency)- as a reporter in 1952, then from 1976 she was the picture editor and photo reporter of Új Tükör (New Mirror). Until her withdrawal she was the establishing manager Europress Photo Agency. As a photographer and also an editor she is a significant artist and former of Hungarian photography of the past seventy years. She has participated and still works in national and international jury panels and relevant professional institutions. Her recent great scale individual exhibition: Life/Still (Kunsthalle, Budapest, 2019) and the connecting publication Life/Still (Hamu és Gyémánt, 2019). Her artworks are in trust of national and international collections. My first significant exhibition was arranged in the Ernst Museum, which was followed by several other exhibitions both in Hungary and abroad. My pictures taken in India have been shown in exhibitions in the National Gallery and in the Museum of Ethnography. Recently I had exhibitions about Iván Darvas and Éva Ruttkai actors at the University of Kaposvár and at the Vígszínház. My life-work book titled “So Far and Near” was edited by Mihály Gera. The Memorial Volume of Iván Darvas was published in 2007. After that my series was published entitled “Reportage Art”.

Imre Potyó | nature photographer

Imre Potyó is an environmental researcher, the colleague of Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate and a nature photographer, holding numerous national and international awards. He is passionate about raising awareness, and has brought many people closer to nature through his pictures, lectures, articles, columns and guided tours. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where he was mainly involved in fish biology surveys on the Danube, amphibians, crustaceans and soil, and as a member of the MME, he carried out ornithological studies. His love for nature developed at an early age, and he started taking nature photographs 15 years ago. In the beginning, he was interested in almost everything, but in the recent years, he became obsessed with subjects that are less known, even to nature photographers.

László Suhayda | nature photographer

He was born in Gödöllő in 1959. As a kid, he spent a lot of time at the reedy area of Rákos creek and in the surrounding forests and fields of Gödöllő. He was mainly interested in birds, so he joined the local team of the Hungarian Ornithological and Conservation Association in Gödöllő. He bought his first camera rather late, as an adult in 1990. He does not have a favourite photo topic, he finds inspiration in all fields of wildlife. The purpose of his activity as a nature photographer is to share his experience with those who are open to the beauty of nature but do not have the opportunity or time to live it through personally. His attempt is to serve nature and the environment protection through education. He regularly participated in competitions and achieved significant results both in Hungary and abroad. Since 2008, he takes part in nature photo courses as a tutor. He believes, that besides of technical and aesthetic knowledge, it is essential for beginner photographers to learn and respect the ethical rules of nature photography.

Tamás Vitray Jr. | Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic Hungary Magazine, former film and TV cameraman, biologist researcher

According to him, his three different lives ran together at National Geographic magazine. He started living his first life at the Faculty of Science of Eötvös Loránd University, where he graduated as a research biologist. His second life set off at ELTE, majoring in English translation, where he learnt how much English he still needs to learn, and in his great attempt, he ended up as a book translator-editor. He began to live his third life at the University of Theatre and Film Arts, thus he became a film and TV cameraman. Then came years of film work, with the occasional book translation and editing, and a year in advertising. Since he was asked to be the editor-in-chief of National Geographic Books and almost after six years and two hundred and twenty volumes he transferred to National Geographic magazine, now, for twenty one years, he has nothing else in his life but the National Geographic brand. Though, besides, he has been teaching visual cinematography studies in English at Metropolitan University for seven years. He has been preparing National Geographic magazine for fourteen years and he is editor-in-chief for five years. As he says, he is maniac about image and maniac about text too – thus the three of his lives came together into a unified whole at National Geographic magazine.

Zsolt Marcell Tóth | wildlife filmmaker

He was only attending primary school when hiking and exploring nature became part of his life. Once, as a high school student, he saw a cameraman during working and he was impressed by the thought that the man can see the world from a special point of view – this was when he decided to work in filmmaking and television production. Over the decades, he has been able to view and capture the world from many places and many perspectives. As a wildlife filmmaker, he is aware that a good shot requires either great luck or great luck and a lot of lifting, waiting, patience, and tremendous tolerance to endure failure. He has been working on a lot of television and film productions over the past nearly two and a half decades. With a backpack and a tent, he has been able to explore countless lands, but the diversity of the Carpathian Basin still amazes him to this day. He believes that filmmaking is a responsibility, as it gives him the opportunity to document the environment and shape people's perceptions, but it also offers the possibility to play and experiment. For all these reasons, it’s worth to turn on the camera every single day and show the world a framed slice of life.