Marwell Wildlife announces Photographer of the Year winners
Photographers from across the UK have been celebrating the essence of nature in Marwell Wildlife’s annual photography competition. From a hilarious image of a slippery squirrel caught in the act and a Japanese monkey taking a dip in a thermal pool, to a captivating critically endangered Amur leopard and the best of British nature, the prestigious competition highlighted spell binding animals from all over the world.
Judges had the difficult task of selecting their favourite images over four categories - Native Wildlife, Cute and Funny, Marwell Zoo Residents and Marwell Zoo Endangered.
The competition’s overall adult winner was Lawrie Brailey who caught the magical moment between a female fox and her cub. Mr Brailey also won the Marwell Wildlife Endangered category with his atmospheric image of an Amur leopard.
James Welch, 14, won the junior overall award with his skilled image of a short-eared owl in flight.
Laura Barwick, Image Consultant for BBC Natural History Unit and the competition’s head judge said: “I thought the diversity of species was far superior to last year, both from adults and juniors. The Adult Native category alone showed the range and talent that I think typifies the winning selection everyone put together.”
Other winners included ‘Doing Bird’ by Roger Clark who won the cute and funny category with his image of a young squirrel who managed to squeeze his way into a bird feeder. Mr Clark from Hampshire said: “I knew one day it would be too large to get either in or out. As I approached panic set in with the poor creature. It raced around the bottom of the cage like Louis Hamilton on steroids. Eventually it tired and that is when it took up the position of a prisoner who regretted his crime but had to settle down to his term of ‘bird’. The photo opportunity was sealed!
This year’s People Choice winner was Emma Healey with her image of a Japanese macaque breathing a sigh of satisfaction after emerging from a hot pool. Whilst the Marwell Wildlife Residents winner was Tim Archer with his stunning silhouette of a macaque.
Sponsored by Wildlife Worldwide and The Travelling Naturalist, the competition’s top prize was an 8 day Estonia photography trip worth £1,895, along with an annual subscription to Digital Photographer magazine. Other prizes included a special day at Marwell Zoo incorporating a Junior Photographic Experience, annual memberships and camera equipment from Thule, Case Logic and Gardenature.
As well as providing some fantastic prizes, we are pleased to have sponsored this year’s competition to the tune of £1,000 to help Marwell’s conservation work with Grevy’s Zebra in Africa.
If you are interested in wildlife photography and want to develop your skills, why not join us on one of our specialist trips? For more details, contact one of our expert consultants.
