BWPA 2018 Winners
Overall Winner
“Contrails at Dawn” by Paul Colley.
Daubenton’s bats. Coate Water Country Park, Swindon.
Ghostly contrails reveal the flight paths and wing beats of Daubenton’s bats. An infrared camera and lighting system that were 14 months in development overcame the challenge of photographing the high- speed flight of these small mammals in the dark. The in-camera double exposure caught the foreground bat milliseconds before insect intercept. As these bats are a protected species they were photographed in the wild following advice from the Bat Conservation Trust and Natural England.
“No other image in my portfolio had been so clearly conceived and yet so difficult to achieve. My artistic intent was to capture this extraordinary little bat’s speed of movement and hunting flight path, but the journey to success was littered with disappointing failures. Fortunately, fellow photographers encouraged imaginative experimentation and taught me to anticipate setbacks as a reasonable price for ultimate success. In hindsight, I experienced a huge gradient of emotion. There were the lows felt during months of long, cold and exhausting dusk-to-dawn sessions, sometimes waist deep in water and often without getting a single usable image. And then the natural highs of those light bulb moments, when new ideas blossomed, problems were solved and the project inched closer towards the potential to win this exceptional accolade.” – Paul Colley
Animal Behaviour
Category Winner
“Life and Death at the Edge of the World” by Sunhil Gopalan
Shetland, Scotland.
Highly Commended
"Golden Eagle Feeding on Roe Deer Carcass" by Mark Hamblin
"Mountain Hair in Full Sprint" by Ben Hall
"Gannet With Fish" by Andy Rouse
"On a Mission" by Luke Wilkinson
"A Chocolate Fountain Moment" by Philio Male
"Nest Builder" by David Gibbon
"Finding a Host" by Matthew Gould
"Cold Embrace" by Jennie Smith
"Octopus for Dinner?" by Philip Double
"Bonxie Riding a Gannet" by John MacFarlane
"Bubble Blower" by Alex Mustard
Animal Portraits
Category Winner
“Bean” by Tesni Ward
Badger. Peak District National Park, Derbyshire.
Highly Commended
"Inquisitive Red Squirrel" by Neil McIntyre
"Shy Puffin" by Csaba Tokolyi
"Shadow on the Peaks" by Nick Hurst
"Eye Contact" by Chas Moonie
"What Are You Doing Down There Taking my Photo?" by Darren Moston
"Grumpy Mountain Hare Leveret" by Neil McIntyre
"Collision Course" by Philip Selby
"From the Shadows" by Alannah Hawker
"The Long-Call" by Danni Thompson
"At the Den" by Terry Griffiths
"Icy Blue" by Ian Todd
"Snake Haven" by Lucy Murgatroyd
Botanical Britain
Category Winner
“Kelp Bed at Dawn” by Robert Canis
Kelp. Kingsgate Bay, Kent.
Highly Commended
"English Chalkstream" by Charlotte Sams
"Windblown Pine Pollen" by Toby Houlton
"Sundew" by Keith Trueman
"The Sentinel" by Daniel Trim
British Nature in Black & White
Category Winner
“Contrails at Dawn” by Paul Colley
Daubenton’s bats. Coate Water Country Park, Swindon.
Highly Commended
"The Boiler Room" by Kevin Morgans
"Tears in the Eyes" by Sean Weekly
"A Roe Deer Crossing a Plastic Desert" by Roy Curtis
Close to Nature
Category Winner
“Goose Barnacles” by David Bennett
Goose barnacles. Danna Bay, Highland.
Highly Commended
"Resting Fluffy Nuthatch" by Alan Price
"Tee Shot" by Stephen Darlington
"Dragonfly Stained Glass Window" by Oliver Wright
Coast & Marine
Category Winner
“Storm Gull” by Craig Denford
Storm gull. Newhaven, East Sussex.
Highly Commended
"Ta Da!" by Kirsty Andrews
"Tompot in the Light" by Henley Spiers
"Otter and Water" by Keith Thorburn
"Where's Wally?" by Mark Green
"'Tropical' Fish" by Alex Mustard
"Seal Pup" by Ruth Hughes
"Tompot with Eggs" by Paul Pettit
"Saucer Eyes" by Cathy Lewis
"Tiny Wonder" by Alex Mustard
"Fireworks Display" by Kirsty Andrews
"Undersea Alien" by Kirsty Andrews
"The Hunt" by Henley Spiers
Habitat
Category Winner
“Spectacular Isolation” by Andrew Parkinson
Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.
Highly Commended
"Purple Sunstar and Kelp" by Trevor Rees
"Dogfish on a Bed of Brittle Stars" by Robert Bailey
"A Room with a View" by James Shooter
"Red Squirrel in Autumnal Pine Forest" by Neil McIntyre
"Red Squirrel on Giant Old Oak" by Neil McIntyre
"Spiny Lobster Among Jewel Anemones" by Matt Doggett
"A Mother Beaver with her Kits" by Matthew Maran
"Stag Night" by Ben Andrew
"Watching the Harvest" by Robin Morrison
"Cock and Hen Salmon Leaping the Weir" by Andrew Fusek Peters
"At the End of the Rainbow" by Sean Weekly
"Out-There Reef" by Dan Bolt
Hidden Britain
Category Winner
“Waiting for her Prey” by Andrew McCarthy
Dunchideock, Devon, UK.
Highly Commended
"Four Common Wasps Drinking" by Roy Rimmer
"Damselfly Covered in Dew" by Oliver Wright
"Red Ant Farming Aphids and Being Rewarded with a Honeydew Globule" by Roy Rimmer
"A Good Spot" by Jason Parry
"Basking in the Sun" by Guy Pilkington
Urban Wildlife
Category Winner
“Magpie in the Snow” by Christopher Swan
Magpie. Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow.
Highly Commended
"Station Mouse" by Sam Rowley
"Kingfisher About Town" by Daniel Trim
"Roe Deer Through Headstone Carving" by William Harvey
"Otter Swimming Through a Polluted River Full of Plastic" by Neil Phillips
"Graveyard Family" by Alex Witt
"Inquisitive Brock" by Alan Seymour
Wild Woods
Category Winner
“Seasonal Overlap” by James Roddie
Aviemore, Highland, Scotland.
Highly Commended
"Spotlight" by Chris Dale
"Beech in Winter" by Max More
"Some Gold Among the Silver" by James Roddie
"Mushrooms" by Ross Hoddinott
"The Beech Avenue" by Andy Farrer
"Morning Mist" by Robin Goodlad
"Porcelain Fungi in the Canopy" by Peter Greenstreet
WildPix 12-18 Years
Category Winner
“The Eye of the Spawn” by Ivan Carter (Age 17)
Walmer Castle, Kent.
Highly Commended
"On The Water Front" by Theo Russell (Age 17)
"Golden Bokeh" by Gideon Knight (Age 18)
WildPix - Under 12 Years
Category Winner
“Who Says Bugs Aren’t Cute?” by Lucy Farrell (Age 9)
Borrowdale, Cumbria.
Highly Commended
"Stopping for a Rest" by Tess Easterbrook (Age 8)
"Mayfly Resting on Grass" by Alicia Lakin (Age 10)
British Seasons
Category Winner
“Red Squirrel” by Neil McIntyre
Red Squirrel. Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.
"Spring Red Squirrel on Old Calddonian Pine Tree" by Neil McIntyre
"Summer Red Squirrel in Purple Heather" by Neil McIntyre
"Autumn Red Squirrel Silhouette" by Neil McIntyre
"Winter Red Squirrel" by Neil McIntyre
Documentary Series
Category Winner
“Grey seals” by Ben Watkins
Grey seals. Cornwall.
Based on pup production, the UK is home to 38% of the world’s entire population of grey seals. In Cornwall there are numerous organisations and charities working together with the common goal of conserving this iconic species. Their work mainly consists of non-invasive techniques that keep human interaction with the seals to a minimum, only ever stepping in when it is necessary for the seals’ survival.
"A Wild Grey Seal In Stormy Waters" by Ben Watkins
"Monitoring Seal Haul-Out Sites Using Technology" by Ben Watkins
"Public Coastal Survey to Monitor Marine Life" by Ben Watkins
"A Rescued Grey Seal Pup Being Transferred for Rehabilitation" by Ben Watkins
"Post Mortem Examination" by Ben Watkins
"Rehabilitated Grey Seals Being Released Back Into the Wild" by Ben Watkins
Young Photographers Special Mention
"The Long Wait" by Jake Kneale (Age 15)
"Mothers Love" by Josh Clark (Age 18)
"Corkwing Wrasse" by Ellie Stones (Age 18)
"Brownsea Red" by Joel Osborn (Age 10)
"Top of the Rock" by Casey Hunter Thomason (Age 7)
"Focused for Flight" by Sophia Dennett (Age 11)