Waterlife photography competition

Our photography contest invites photographers around the UK to share their images of wildlife, landscapes and people interacting with nature taken at one of our centres throughout the summer season. Now is a great time to capture Britain’s wetland wildlife at its best and showcase the rich diversity of wildlife supported by our wetlands.

The shortlist of winning and commended images will be chosen by professional photography judge and Waterlife editor Sophie Stafford and a jury of WWT professionals, and will be featured in the January/March 2020 issue of Waterlife. The final winner will receive a pair of Swarovski CL Companion 8x30 binoculars, the perfect companion to enjoy unique wildlife experiences wherever you go!

2018 winning images

Winner - Secret Cuckoo taken by Garry Oldfield at WWT Martin Mere< — Winner - Secret Cuckoo taken by Garry Oldfield at WWT Martin Mere

Runner-up - Swallow taken by Chris Bishop at WWT Arundel< — Runner-up - Swallow taken by Chris Bishop at WWT Arundel

Third place - Green-veined white butterfly taken by Jonathan Cuttle at WWT Slimbridge< — Third place - Green-veined white butterfly taken by Jonathan Cuttle at WWT Slimbridge

How to enter:

All photographic entries must have been taken at a WWT Wetland Centre between 1 June 2019 and 10 October 2019.
Each entry must be submitted under an individual’s name and should be accompanied by details of the where & when the photograph was taken.
You can submit up to three photos as hi-resolution images via email (preferably if under 6MB in file size). If greater than this we recommend that you either re-size the image/s or send via a file sharing site such as We Transfer or Dropbox.
Please submit all entries via email to wwt@thinkpublishing.co.uk as hi-resolution images with a maximum total file size of 20MB. Only entries submitted via this email address will be deemed valid. Entries received via other means cannot be accepted
The winner (only) will be notified of results by the end of October 2019.

Who can enter?

The competition is open to all amateur and professional photographers. Amateur and professional entries will not be judged separately.
Employees of WWT and their immediate families are not eligible to enter. Entrants under the age of 12 years need to have parent or guardian consent to enter.

Terms and conditions

Images may be digitally enhanced to remove spots or scratches but not manipulated. Entrants can enhance the picture to make it brighter, clearer etc, but not manipulate the content. WWT reserve the right to exclude any image they believe may have been excessively treated so as to alter its authenticity.
Any photograph that has won a prize in another major photographic competition will be ineligible for entry into the competition
It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that all necessary permissions are obtained from any person featured in a photograph.
The judges’ decision is final.
The judges reserve the right not to make any award if, in their opinion, none of the entries meet the required standard.
If there is any doubt, WWT will decide whether or not a photograph fulfils the competition criteria. If it does not, it will be withdrawn. WWT’s decision is final.
Any queries regarding the Waterlife photo competition should be sent to waterlife@wwt.org.uk

Thank you for entering our annual photo competition. This gives WWT permission to use any image submissions under the terms stated below:

You hereby give to WWT the non-exclusive right to record, copy, reproduce, broadcast, transmit and perform all, or part, of the Material in the promotion of WWT in all, and any, media throughout the world in perpetuity.
Copyright in the Material will at all times belong to you.
By signing this you agree that you are entitled to give us the rights in (1) above and that:
(a) giving us this permission does not:
infringe the copyright or any other personal or property rights of any person; or
knowingly breach any laws or regulations; or
entitle anyone to claim any payment from us; and
(b) anyone appearing in the Material has given you their consent, enabling you to let us use the Material.
We agree that we will only use the Material as agreed in (1) above, and that we will compensate you for all and any costs, claims, expenses and liabilities (including, without limitation, legal fees and any sums paid on the advice of Counsel) resulting from any breach by us of this Agreement.
WWT will hold this form and your personal data provided within it for the sole purpose of providing a record of your consent to WWT using your images. The data will be kept securely in accordance with the requirements under data protection legislation, including but not limited to the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act 2018. The data will not be made available to any third party without your consent.