Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/widowed-penguins-photo-wins-photography-award/

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. But some pictures don’t necessarily bring words to mind, but rather, they evoke emotion. And the following picture definitely brings out all the feelings of happiness as it’s a photo of two adorable penguins staring at the St Kilda Pier skyline in Melbourne, Australia.

The precious photo, which was taken back in 2019, went viral after being posted online. It then went on to win a prize at Oceanographic magazine’s Ocean Photograph Awards 2020.

The picture was taken by photographer Tobias Baumgaertner. He was aware of the Community Choice Award as a result of the picture, which captured the hearts of so many. It was last month that Tobias’ picture made the shortlist of five photographs that were in the running for the Community Choice Award. The decision for who won was based off popular vote.

After he won, Tobias shared that he was floored by the win and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for having been picked the best out of five pictures. After posting the announcement of his win on Instagram, Tobias wrote, “THANKS A MILLION, you guys are the best!”

Earlier in the year, Tobias had shared the picture of the two penguins, explaining that both birds had lost their partners but had found comfort in one another. When he shared it, he stated that he hoped it would remind people that even during difficult times in life, we’re lucky if we have someone by our side that we can count on – much like these penguins.

Tobias had become intrigued with the two penguins after learning more about their stories. Both had lost their partners, and following these losses, they started to hang out with one another and would regularly comfort each other by watching the skyline together for hours in the evenings. After hearing about their nightly ritual, Tobias really wanted to capture the moment and so he spent three whole nights with the penguin colony until he was able to get the picture for himself. Once captured, he shared it to social media, stating that he hoped people would like it as much as he did.

And people certainly were enamored by the image. On Twitter, the adorable penguin pair gathered more than 160,000 likes and 51,000 comments from users. One of the comments on the image perfectly sums up the vibe of the photo with the commenter writing, “wasn’t planning one crying tonight, but thanks.”

I don’t think any of us planned on getting a little misty-eyed, but this sweet photo will do that to a person. You can find the image on Tobias’ Instagram page. For more of his work you can also check out his website, tobiasvisuals.com. Personally, I think it more than deserved its win. What do you think? Let us know!

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog