Awards
British Wildlife Photography Awards 2019 marks the tenth anniversary of this prestigious photography competition. We take a closer look at the stunning images produced by this year’s category winners THEWINNERS
OVERALL& URBANWILDLIFE CATEGORYWINNER
DanielTrim- BehindBars
Grey herons thrive around London’s waterways but they also do well in more urban settings such as parks and canals, despite the litter and people. This individual was hunting under cover of a bridge – presumably the fish were taking shelter among the fallen leaves and plastic bottles. The morning light shining through a grill gives the impression that the bird is trapped as it gazes out through the mesh.
Location: London Subject: Grey heron, Ardea cinerea Tech details: Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with 500mm lens. Exposure 1/500sec at f/4 and ISO 640 danieltrimphotography.co.uk
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR CATEGORYWINNER
OVERALLCOASTAND MARINE CATEGORY WINNER, AND COASTAND MARINE SCOTLANDWINNER
HIDDEN BRITAIN CATEGORYWINNER
RobinChittenden- Common swift skimming thewater
AlexMustard - Seal inSeaweedGarden
AlanSmith- GardenSpider
The photo was taken with the camera placed low, looking up at the backlit spider, isolating it from the surroundings. The lens was touching the web, causing its occupant to disappear every time I adjusted the focus. The slow shutter speed was required to obtain the depth-of-field I wanted, and led to blurring in the gentle breeze. As a result, it took quite some time to get the shot I wanted.
I spent several mornings photographing the swifts as they came in to drink. They usually only arrive on hot, sunny days, which means they’re only photographable in the best light for an hour or so – the ‘golden hour’. The speed with which they move meant that many images were not in focus. After many accumulative hours of photography, I managed to get some images that were sharp.
Seals in England are used to divers, but in Scotland they’re still persecuted by people and are much more wary, so I was pleased to meet this curious individual that came into photographic range. In such a beautiful setting, I wanted the seaweed garden to be as much of the story as the seal. Location: Isle of Coll, Inner Hebrides, Argyll and Bute Subject: Grey seal, Halichoerus grypus Tech details: Nikon D700 with 16-35mm lens at 16mm in a Subal underwater housing. Exposure 1/60sec at f/11 and ISO 800 amustard.com
Location: Norwich, Norfolk Subject: Common swift, Apus apus
Location: My back garden, Reading, Berkshire Subject: Garden spider, Araneus diadematus Tech details: Canon EOS 70D with 60mm macro lens on a tripod. Exposure 1/80sec at f/14 and ISO 5000 footprintsinthedust.me
Tech details: Canon EOS 1DX with 500mm lens on a monopod. Exposure 1/8000sec at f/4.5 and ISO 800 robinchittenden.co.uk
24 Photography News | Issue 71
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