"photoshopping" ... that's in interresting word, could mean different things, who has the copyright on that one?

Whats amazing is he used a photo that was already famous! I did a little more internet surfing and found that the "used" photo was already published and quite well known already. Thats like using a famous essay on a subject and using it as your own. Your just begging to be caught! Sad..

I actually agree with the judges (although I do believe they should have stated the rules more clearly.)

How can someone believe that the image was their's when the primary subject/s and focus of the piece were not in anyway his or were an interpretative rendering he created of the the original files. He took a great photo that was not his and combined other photos that were not his either. The only thing he added was a caption. The lack of respect for others work makes me sick at times.

photoshopping was allowed. using another persons photo was not.

i wonder if he took the bird photos. if he didn't it hardly counts as photography.

It isn't the first time and it won't be the last.
http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=1384

The judges must have been total noobs to not know that was photo chopped.

I thought this was an interesting read about a photographer stripped of first place award for using work that was not his. Check out:

http://www.popphoto.com/news/2011/07/chinese-photographer-gets-award-stripped-plagiarism-photoshop