We are delighted to announce that the first prize winner of our Photography Competition 2020, sponsored by Fujifilm UK, is Carl Everitt. Carl has won £1500 worth of photographic equipment from Fujifilm UK for his beautiful image of dawn rising over Bradlaugh Fields in Northamptonshire.

Second prize goes to the lovely 'Hare and Seek' photograph of a brown hare, taken in Bedfordshire by Janice Elliott. And the third prize winner is Kevin Pigney for his atmospheric image of a brown hare in winter, dusted by snow, taken at Fulbourn Fen in Cambridgeshire. Janice and Kevin win a share of £300 worth of optical equipment from Opticron.

The top three images will be joined by a further 21 winning photos to create our 2021 wildlife calendar. The other winning photographers are: Warren Bourne, Colin Bradshaw, Mike Harris, Matthew Hazleton, Michael Howard, David Jackson, Ann Miles, David Mills, Gary Norman, Ashley Pead, Guy Pilkington, Martin Swannell, Mark Tyrell, Colin Waite, Mick Watson and Hedley Wright. Congratulations to all of them.

[EDIT: With apologies to David Jackson, whose name was missed out of the original list here]

We also introduced a new category in response to the coronavirus lockdown in spring 2020 - 'Garden and Home Gems'. The winner in this category was Dave Wesson, with his photograph of great spotted woodpeckers taken in Braunston, Northamptonshire. Dave also wins optical equipment from Opticron. 

The judges, who included representatives from Fujifilm UK and Opticron and past winners Simon Wantling and Sarah Lambert, were impressed by the record number of entries into this year's competition, which had an overall theme of 'Local Gems'. 240 people people submitted 580 photographs for consideration - a large, varied and impressive field of photographs to choose from.

Andy Ross, from competition sponsors Fujifilm UK, said: "We’re pleased to be partnering with the Wildlife Trust BCN once again to support local conservation and celebrate the talents of photographers in the area.

"Although we have recently seen the world change rapidly in crisis, we have also witnessed the nation reconnect with the great outdoors and creativity blossom through photography. All of this year’s competition entries and winners, particularly those in the Garden and Home Gems category, demonstrate this perfectly.

"Fujifilm has been a committed resident of the Bedford community for more than 35 years and we are proud to continue playing our part in caring for the wildlife of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, as well as nurturing the talents of our region’s photographers."

Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit their photographs for consideration. The calendar will be on sale later this year.

We are very grateful for the support of our sponsors Fujifilm UK and partners Opticron, and for the time and expertise of our judges.

The 2021 Photography Competition will be open soon.