A Kangaroo Playing Air Guitar Has Won A Photography Award

On Thursday (23 November), photographer Jason Moore was crowned the 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards winner with the stunning, hilarious photo of Air Guitar Roo, which you can see above.

As well as being the Overall Winner for this year’s competition, Moore’s photo also won in the Creatures of the Land category. Moore snapped the image of the female Western Grey Kangaroo in the outer suburbs of Perth (Boorloo), Western Australia, when he visited a field filled with wildflowers and adult kangaroos and joeys playing together.

He took the photo in August 2021 and knew that he had captured something remarkable when he saw the image of the kangaroo striking an air guitar pose. A popular choice amongst the judges, Moore’s photo encapsulated the essence of the Comedy Wildlife Awards – getting that “happy vibe and feel-good factor” on camera.

Moore explained in a press release, “I had been out with my camera photographing some waterfowl at a nearby lake. I had been up at sunrise to take advantage of the ‘golden hour’ light, but it turned out to be a disappointing morning on the water.

“After leaving the lake, somewhat dejected, I decided to swing past an area of open bushland that I know of because there are often a ‘mob’ of Kangaroos feeding and sunning themselves in a field close to the road (it’s on my way to and from work so I drive past it every day).”

He continued, “When I arrived, there were a number of Kangaroos in the field. The morning light was still favourable, so I grabbed my camera and headed off to a spot where I could get down to eye level with my subjects amongst the biting ticks (the lengths we go to just to get that perfect image.) I ended up shooting about 40 or 50 frames of the Kangaroos with various content including Mum’s, Joey’s and also some action shots of them bouncing along through the yellow field.”

On capturing the award-winning photo, Moore added, “The shoot turned out to be a great session, and I am quite fond of several images that I captured. Not many people know that Kangaroos are normally fairly docile and even a bit boring most of the time if I’m honest. However, when I saw this Roo striking the air guitar pose, it immediately brought a smile to my face, and I knew that I had captured something really special.”

After winning the 2023 Photographer of the Year award at the Comedy Wildlife Photographer Awards, Moore has won a once-in-a-lifetime experience safari in the Masai Mara, Kenya, operated by Alex Walker’s Serian, a handmade trophy from the Wonder Workshop in Tanzania and a photography bag from THINK TANK.

Moore’s win follows the album announcement of Australian Mammal Calls, the new release from the passionate team behind Songs Of Disappearance, which lands on Friday, 1 December.

Created in partnership with The Bowerbird Collective and the Australian Conservation Foundation, this new koala-ty collection of music stars over 30 mammal species across the country, such as kangaroos, koalas, dingoes, possums and beyond. The native creatures’ screeches, shrieks, and growls will be shared with Australian audiences in the name of charity.

The new release follows Australian Frog Calls, which debuted at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart last year, leapfrogging above Jimmy Barnes and Harry Styles and croaking below Paul Kelly and Taylor Swift.

You can pre-order the album here by Thursday, 7 December, for your purchase to go towards the ARIA Charts this Christmas.

Jason Moore …. Huge congratulations. Enjoy the prizes and the love you are no doubt receiving already! pic.twitter.com/T0DIbqyOm0

— Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards (@ComedyWildlife) November 23, 2023