
The British Wildlife Photography Awards 2015
A Celebration of British Wildlife
The British Wildlife Photography Awards proudly announce the winners for 2015.
Winning images are chosen from thousands of entries in sixteen separate categories including a special film category for Wildlife in HD Video and three junior categories to encourage young people to connect with nature through photography.
“The British Wildlife Photography Awards has become one of the most anticipated events in the wildlife photography calendar. The bar in wildlife photography has already been raised to unimaginably high levels of sophistication, innovation and artistic vision, yet the standard somehow continues to get better and better. This latest collection of images is testament to the sheer level of interest in wildlife in Britain and, above all, the remarkable abilities of our wildlife photographers”. Mark Carwardine, zoologist, writer, photographer and broadcaster.
British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015 is Barrie Williams, for his overall winning picture of gannets on a cliff, ‘On the Edge’
The Winners
British Wildlife Photographer

'On the Edge'
by Barrie Williams
Overall winner and habitat category: Barrie Williams, ‘On the Edge’, northern gannets, Shetland Isles, Scotland.
A striking image of seabirds nesting on cliffs and flying over an inky-black sea has scooped the top prize in the 2015 British Wildlife Photography Awards. Barrie Williams, from Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland, beat thousands of entries to win the overall prize of £5,000 with a photograph of gannets in the Shetland Isles, described as "beautiful and evocative" by the judges.”
"Sea cliffs provide a haven from potential predators, a place for birds to breed, hunt and safely raise the next generation. This vertigo-inducing shot shows guano-stained rocks, the bustle of lower ledges with birds packed tightly and gannets hunting over the inky seas below. The judges felt it was the unique perspective of this shot and its ability to reveal something new about seabird life that made it such a firm favourite." Matt Swaine Editor, BBC Wildlife Magazine.
“Photographers around the UK continue to be inspired by this competition and enter fabulous imagery which demonstrates a passion for, and a connection to, our wonderful wildlife. Each work illustrates the many different ways in which we can connect with wild places and wild creatures. Worlds collide in Barrie Williams’ beautiful and evocative image, which demands a double-take, affording a unique insight into the habitat and behaviour of gannets. The British Wildlife Photography Awards continue to offer the natural world with the recognition, and reverence, it deserves.” Paul Wilkinson, competition judge and The Wildlife Trusts’ head of Living Landscape
The Category winners are:

Animal behaviour category: Kris Worsley, ‘Pheasant Display’, Nottinghamshire, England

Animal portraits category: William Harvey, ‘Common Lizard’, Surrey, England

Hidden Britain category: Alex Hyde, ‘Dew-covered Crane Fly’, Peak District national park, Derbyshire, England

Coast and marine category: Paul Colley, ‘Beautiful Blues’, blue shark, Penzance, Cornwall, England

Wild woods category: Chaitanya Deshpande, ‘A Flutter in the Woods’, London, England

Botanical Britain category: Tim Hunt, ‘Fairy Moss’, Penryn, Cornwall, England

Close to nature category: Chris Speller, ‘Mite Walking in Frog Valley’, Bristol, England

Urban wildlife category: Tomos Brangwyn, ‘London Starling Gang’, England

British nature in black and white category: Terry Whittaker, ‘Pink-footed Geese in Mist’, Black Isle, Highlands, Scotland
Documentary series: David Pressland, ‘Toads on Roads’, North York Moors national park, North Yorkshire, England
 
 
British seasons category: Kevin Sawford, ‘Roe Deer in four Seasons’, Suffolk.

12–18 years category: Kyle Moore (age 16), 'Bokeh frog', Lowestoft, Suffolk, England

Under 12 years category: Max Eve (age 10), 'Blue-tailed Damselfly', Caerlaverock Wetland Centre, Dumfries, Scotland
The Last Seahorse from BWPAwards.
WILDLIFE IN HD VIDEO WINNER – 'The Last Seahorse in Studland'
Camera, Edit & Production by member Andy Jackson, Written & Narrated by Jackie Daly (SubSeaTV
Scarborough,
North Yorkshire,
England)
"We’re thrilled to share that our film The Last Seahorse in Studland? has won the Wildlife in HD Video category of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2015.
Every year, we’re inspired by the beautiful photographs and films that tell dynamic, breathtaking, and intimate stories of Britain’s wildlife across all categories of the BWPAwards. It’s a great honour to have our work recognised amongst such talented company. Big congratulations to all the other category winners and commended entries.
We’re hopeful that winning the competition will bring more attention to the plight of British seahorses and help to protect one of our most iconic marine animals." www.subseatv.net
Highlights of all the Winning and Commended films of 2015:
BWPA Highlights 2015 from BWPAwards.
Highly commended entries:
Brittlestars and Flameshells by Lindsay Brown, Music by Jason Shaw
Home in the Garden by Josh Jaggard
Seal Playtime by Sue Daly
British Garden Birds by Kathy Stringer and Nick Poole
Beautiful Berwicks by Mihali Moore
Mersea Island by Mat Larkin
Island Life by Drew Buckley
Dancing Skies by Owen Carter
Tribute Tonk by Tom Ross and Gary Smith
Congratulations to those above, especially to the marvellous Wildlife-film.com members highlighted! (Films embedded below...)
See all HD Video Commended Entries here: www.bwpawards.org/static/2015/hd-video-winner-2015.html
WildPix Young People’s Awards here: www.bwpawards.org/static/2015/young-winner-2015.html
View all the winning Images, video and selection of highly commended entries here: www.bwpawards.co.uk
The Awards and Prizes
www.bwpawards.org/page/awards_and_prizes
1. Overall Winner, British Wildlife Photographer. £5,000
2. Wildlife in HD Video Winner
Sky’s top TV package and a 3D TV
Plus a Canon XA20 Professional Camcorder www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Camcorders/professional/XA20/
3. Category Winners
The category winners will receive:
A Canon PowerShot G7 X Camera
www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_Camera/PowerShot/PowerShot_G7_x/index.html
4. Portfolio Winner ‘Documentary Series’
A Gitzo Tripod GT3542LS
www.gitzo.co.uk/systematic-series-3-carbon-tripod-long-4-section-eye-level-gt3542ls
5. Portfolio Winner ‘British Seasons’
A £600 voucher for Páramo clothing
6. The Young People’s Awards WildPix / BWPA
Young British Wildlife Photographer (12 - 18) £500
Young British Wildlife Photographer (Up to 11) £300
7. The School Award
A Wild Wonder Day with Iain Green. Plus £300
www.wildwonder.co.uk
Awards Ceremony
All winners, commended entrants and photographers who feature in the book will be invited to an Awards ceremony and launch of the traveling exhibition which will take place on the 16th September 2015 at the Mall Galleries, London. The Awards will be hosted by Mark Carwardine, Zoologist, Writer, Photographer, Broadcaster and Environmentalist.
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The Sponsors
Canon, Sky, WWF, RSPB Explorers, The Wildlife Trusts, CVP.com, City of London, Páramo, Countryside Jobs Service, Buglife, Outdoor Photography, and Wild Wonder.
Supporters
BBC Wildlife Magazine, Natural England, Wild Photos, Wildeye, Wildlife-film.com, Kristal Digital Imaging and AA Publishing
The Book
The British Wildlife Photography Awards: Collection 6 showcases the very best entries from the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2015. This stunning coffee table book is a celebration of British wildlife as captured on camera by today’s best amateur and professional photographers.

This superb collection of imagery showcases the very best of the British Wildlife Photography Awards, an annual competition celebrating the breathtaking diversity of the natural history of the British Isles. The photographs within the book demonstrate an extraordinary range of viewpoints and differing approaches. Every picture is accompanied by the photographer's personal account of the inspiration behind the image. Wonderfully varied, amusing and illuminating stories that help bring us closer to the fascinating and often unseen world of nature. Also included are the photographer's notes, outlining their technique and the type of equipment used, making this an invaluable resource for anyone interested in improving their photography or investing in new equipment. Foreword by Mark Cawardine.
The book is available here: www.amazon.co.uk
Contact:
Maggie Gowan
British Wildlife Photography Awards
Email: mail@maggiegowan.co.uk
Website: www.bwpawards.co.uk |