Photographers get closer to nature to win prizes
Keen photographers have each won a prize in five categories of the prestigious WWT Photography Competition. Their photographs of a common lizard, a soldier beetle, a little grebe eating a fish, a spider and a pair of hungry swallows have respectively won the ‘People & Wildlife’, ‘Young Photographer’, ‘Wetland Wildlife’, ‘Wetland Landscape’, and ‘People’s Choice’ categories in the summer round of the competition. All of the photos were taken at WWT London Wetland Centre.
Wendy Marks from Hayes won with a charming portrait of a young boy watching a lizard basking in the sun at WWT London Wetland Centre. The photograph won the ‘People & Wildlife’ category. Lizards are a common sight at the Centre, often seen basking on log piles and the wooden bridges.
Christopher Algar, from Hounslow, who has taken many beautiful photographs of the wildlife at WWT London Wetland Centre during his regular visits, captured a little grebe eating a fish. The judges chose the photograph in the ‘Wetland Wildlife’ for its clarity, composition and detailed portrayal of a typical wetland habitat.
A quirky picture of a spider in a wildlife hide, with a view of the main lake at dusk, was chosen in the ‘Wetland Landscape’ category. The spider hangs suspended from the hide window as the sun sets, encapsulating the varied wildlife that wetland habitats support. The picture was taken by Chris Vos of Fulham.
The ‘Young Photographer’ category was won by Oscar Dewhurst who took a stunning macro photograph of a soldier beetle making its way up a grass stem. The judges praised it not just for its clarity but for also highlighting insects that often get overlooked throughout wetland habitats. Oscar lives in Chiswick.
And John Doherty’s stunning photo of two hungry young swallows calling for food was voted by the public as the People’s Choice winner. John’s based nearer to WWT’s wetland centre at Castle Espie in Northern Ireland, but enjoys making the most of his WWT membership and visiting the Trust’s other Centres around the UK.
The photographers each win a place on an exclusive wildlife photography course at WWT London Wetland Centre in October. They go forward to the national finals to be held in November 2012, judged by Chris Packham, Charlie Hamilton-James and a panel of other top wildlife photography experts.
For more information visit www.wwt.org.uk/photo
