The British Wildlife Photography Awards 2019
A Celebration of British Wildlife
CALL FOR ENTRIES
Maggie Gowan, BWPA founder and director, says "Thank you to everyone who has supported BWPA and all the photographers who have entered". See the 2018 winners here.
The 2019 Awards are now open for entry.
BWPA 2018 overall winner: Paul Colley, “Contrails at Dawn”, Coate Water Country Park, Swindon ©
Winner of the Wildlife in HD category 2018 : “Industrial Evolution”, Teesside, Sam Oakes
BWPA Tenth Anniversary 2019
To mark our tenth anniversary and help raise awareness about our coast; its incredible biodiversity and the threats it is facing we have expanded the Coast and Marine category to include British and Irish Coastlines within four separate categories and prizes for; Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.
Mark Carwardine, conservationist broadcaster and author has written about our coast in the ‘People’s Manifesto for Wildlife’
“Our island nation has 32,018 kilometres of coastline overlooking the English Channel, Celtic Sea, Irish Sea, North Sea and, of course, the open North Atlantic Ocean. We are surrounded by some of the richest seas in the World, teeming with an astonishing abundance and diversity of marine wildlife.
We provide a home to some 8 million sea birds, wide variety of cetaceans, along with everything from otters and grey seals to basking sharks and white-tailed eagles. There are estimated to be 8,500 marine species living in UK seas altogether. But we do a shockingly bad job of looking after them. The good news is that we can turn the tide. With proper management we can ensure that our seas are brought back to full health and remain healthy for generations to come”
Read his full article here including the damage we cause and his proposals for future management of our coast.
 |
A Peoples Manifesto for Wildlife
THIS MANIFESTO . . .
Was conceived to publish a set of informed ideas from a parliament of strong, independent voices. Ideas which, if implemented today, would make a huge difference for wildlife tomorrow.
THIS MANIFESTO . . .
Presents a series of essays by 18 Ministers highlighting some of the most critical concerns affecting the UK landscape and its species, each accompanied by ten commandments – ‘no-brainer’ solutions to the problems. More here ...
Download and pass on the manifesto by Chris Packham: a brilliant initiative we can all act upon and support. |
New dates
The 2019 competition has different dates to previous years. The 2019 competition is open now, and closes on 6th April 2019.
Prize Draw
We are offering a prize draw for 5 entrants who purchase an entry package worth £30 or more by 10th December. (NB Your images do not need to be uploaded until closing of the competition). The prize worth £35 is the latest BWPA book no 9 and 2019 Calendar, which will be posted in time for Christmas.
Exhibition tour
Exhibitions: The full list of venues can be seen here: bwpawards.org/c/galleries/exhibitions
The travelling exhibition is currently on show at these galleries.
-
Nature in Art, Gloucester to 6th January 2019
-
Canterbury Museums & Galleries to 3rd February 2019
-
Astley Hall, Chorley: 24th November 2018 to 31st December 2018.
Book: British Wildlife Photography Awards 9
 |
Naturalist, Author and Wildlife TV Producer Stephen Moss comments;
“Once again, this collection of images from the British Wildlife Photography Awards leaves us in awe of the skill, patience and artistry of the photographers whose work is showcased here. The extraordinary range of subjects, species and habitats, and the imaginative way they are portrayed, leaves us in no doubt that we in Britain are fortunate to be home to some of the most talented photographers in the world. But stunning though this book is, it is not simply a collection of beautiful images, preserved like museum specimens for us to enjoy. It is also a snapshot of Britain’s diverse and beautiful wildlife, at a time when these wild creatures – and the places where they live – are under threat as never before.”
Buy the book for £25, with free postage and packing: Order via PayPal. |
British Wildlife Photography Awards 2019 Calendar
 |
Discover the wonders of British wildlife with this 2019 calendar!
Great British wildlife photography from the British Wildlife Photography Awards can be found every month, each accompanied by a spacious date grid.
Buy the 2019 calendar for £9.99, plus postage and packing. Order via PayPal. |
Thank you to all the sponsors and supporters
The competition is sponsored by: Canon, RSPB Wildlife Explorers, WWF UK, The Wildlife Trusts, Buglife, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Wildlife Worldwide, Shetland Nature, Paramo, Outdoor Photography Magazine and Countryside Jobs Service
Supporters: Natural England, Wildlife-film.com, Wildeye, Kristal Digital Imaging Centre.
Sponsorship:
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or hosting the exhibition please get in touch.
The British Wildlife Photography Awards were established in 2009. The key aims of the Awards are to:
-
Recognise the talents of photographers practicing in the UK, while at the same time highlight the great wealth and diversity of Britain’s natural history.
-
Celebrate British wildlife, in all its beauty and diversity, through a collection of inspirational photographs.
-
Showcase the very best of our nature photography to a wide audience and engage all ages with evocative and powerful imagery.
-
Encourage discovery, exploration, conservation and enjoyment of our natural heritage.
-
Raise awareness about British biodiversity, species and habitats.
The Awards and Prizes*
The winning pictures and best entries will be included in a touring exhibition across the UK and a stunning coffee table book.
Overall Winner, British Wildlife Photographer
The title of British Wildlife Photographer is given to the photographer whose single image is judged to be the most striking and memorable of all the entries. The photographer of the overall winning image is awarded a first prize of £5,000.
Adult Categories
Each adult category winner for still images will win a prize with a value of around £1,000.
Each category winner (except British Seasons, Habitat and Behaviour) will receive a Canon EOS M50 with the EF-M 15-45mm and EF-M 55-200mm lens. Tell unforgettable stories in rich colour and detail with the compact and connected 4K EOS M50. Its sleek design is packed with innovative technologies including cinematic 4K and 5-axis image stabilisation, with DSLR image quality in a lightweight mirrorless body. This modern camera combines a 24.1 Megapixel DSLR sized CMOS sensor with powerful DIGIC 8 processing for outstanding low light performance and depth of field control. A large central electronic viewfinder provides an intuitive shooting experience, with a 7.5cm vari- angle touchscreen to shoot from every perspective
The Behaviour category winner will receive a £1,000 voucher from category sponsor Shetland Nature - to be used against any Shetland Nature tour, subject to availability.
The winner of the Habitat category will win a single place on Wildlife Worldwide’s Skomer’s Perfect Puffin photography tour. Staying on the island for two nights, you can enjoy the wildlife without the crowds and build up an impressive portfolio of puffin images. Other species include short-eared owls, razorbills, guillemots and even grey seals. Accompanied throughout by award-winning photographers, this 3-day trip is the perfect way to get up close and photograph Skomer Island’s puffins.
Coast and Marine categories TBA.
Wildlife in HD Video
The prize in the Wildlife in HD Video category is a Canon XA11 Full HD Camcorder. The XA11 is a Full HD camcorder which feature stunning 20x 26.8mm-576mm optical zoom lenses to flexibly capture a variety of scenes with superb image quality. A Hi-UD lens supports the reduction of chromatic aberration and drives vivid imaging. Canon’s HD CMOS Sensor and the powerful DIGIC DV4 image processing platform deliver great performance in low light and the ability to capture superb Full HD images in 50P at 35Mbps
The XA11 offers a range of various interfaces including HDMI, XLR professional audio terminals, headphone jack and optional GPS support.. Comprising compact and lightweight bodies, the XA11 is ideal for high-action shoots when both speed and mobility are essential. Dynamic Mode provides 5-Axis image stabilization - roll axis, horizontal roll, vertical roll, up-down and left-right - to ensure smooth image capture in various styles of fast-paced shoots
WildPix Categories
There are two special awards to encourage participation by young people. These are free to enter.
*Prizes correct on publication but subject to change.
Also see: BWPA 2018 Wildlife in HD Video Winner, Sam Oakes, on his Winning Entry
Sam Oakes©
The film is based on the idea of showing how wildlife can thrive in the most unlikely corners of the UK, specifically industrial areas. I grew up in North Yorkshire only a stones throw from Teesside, one of the UK's largest industrial complexes. Teesside is unique in its volume of "waste-ground" and abandoned areas between the large factories, the closure of steel & chemical works is a loss to local people but a gain for the areas wildlife. More here ...
Highlights of all the Winning and Commended films of 2018:
BWPA Highlights from 2018 from BWPAwards
BWPA 2018 Winners Announced!
Enter: bwpawards.org/competition/submission-guidelines-and-how-to-enter
Contact:
Maggie Gowan
British Wildlife Photography Awards
Email: mail@maggiegowan.co.uk
Website: www.bwpawards.co.uk |
