Which is your favourite photo in the British Wildlife Photography Awards this year?


The CJS Team have been marvelling at this year's collection of wonderful photos. As ever we all have our favourites; here are details of some the photos we like.  

Katie: It’s between the winning bat photo which is just amazing but also how the bat is heading open mouthed towards the insect, and the autumn red squirrel silhouette, because I love silhouette photos, squirrels and autumn, and with the way it has been focused, it just makes a great photo. I quite like the seasonal overlap and the cute bug too, I’m glad I’m not a judge!!
Amy: Shy puffin, Not sure why, I just like it.
Carla: I’m going to go with the climbing red squirrel & the storm gull.  The squirrel because I love the way he’s captured its face – it just looks full of mischievous.  And the storm gull because there is just something majestic about seabirds and the waves – I am a seaside girl though so I’m probably biased!!
Kerryn: It has to be the Storm Gull by Craig Denford. For me it's an incredibly evocative image, I can hear the waves crashing, smell the salt, feel the spray on my face and above it just about imagine I can hear the slight keening of the gull as it wheels on the buffeting air currents above the turbulent water.   I absolutely adore Chris Dale's spotlight on the silver birch trunk, I love seeing the interplay of light on a subject, especially natural light, morning in this instance I think from the slight frost on the bracken, and the way the single trunk just glows out of the photo stops me in my tracks.  My third and final pick has to be Ben Hall's running hare, for many and various reasons I have a long standing connection with hares not least is HareBrained, my previous Environmental Education business, added to which it's winter, my favourite season, snowy and cold - lovely.  

If you'd like to pick your favourites from these and many more then put the BWPA Book Collection 9 on your Christmas list.  The Collections books are a lovely record of each year's competition with all the winning and highly commended photos, plus a few more, along with some details and background from the photographers and some on the subjects matter too.

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.”
 
Not only that but there is an exhibition tour of the photos around the country, an opportunity to get up close and personal with the images blown up in high definition so you can see every hair, whisker, filament, drop of water and pollen grain.

Exhibition Tour: (Check with the venues for their opening times)  
The Mall Galleries, London – 6th November 2018 to 11th November 2018
Astley Hall, Chorley – 24th November 2018 to 31st December 2018
Luton Stockwood Discovery Centre – 21st January 2019 to 24th March 2019
Nunnington Hall, Yorkshire – 11th May 2018 to 7th July 2019 
Nature in Art, Gloucester – 6th November 2018 to 6th January 2019       
St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery – 19th January 2019 to 17th March 2019
Canterbury Museums & Galleries – 10th November 2018 to 17th February 2019
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust – 11th May 2018 to 10th September 2019