Short-eared owl hunting over Burwell Fen by Hedley Wright
1st prize - Photography Competition 2021
Photography Competition 2021 Winners
Short-eared owl hunting over Burwell Fen by Hedley Wright
1st prize - Photography Competition 2021
Congratulations to all the winners of our 2021 Photography Competition, generously supported by Opticron and Campkins Cameras
We are delighted to announce that the first prize winner of our Photography Competition 2021, supported by Opticron and Campkins Cameras, is Hedley Wright. Hedley has won £250 worth of optical equipment from Opticron for his striking image of a short-eared owl hunting over Burwell Fen in Cambridgeshire.
Hedley Wright collects his Photography Competition 2021 Opticron prize.
Of his win, Hedley said: “I was humbled and delighted to learn that I had won first prize in this year’s Wildlife Trust BCN Photo Competition. Photography and watching wildlife have always been fulfilling for me and since retirement I have spent much of my increased free time combining the two pastimes."
Short-eared owls are a particular passion, as he explains: "I am lucky to have several nature reserves local to me, Burwell Fen is just a short drive away and my favourite location for photographing the stunning short-eared owls hunting voles during the winter months. Every autumn I await their arrival with eager anticipation.”
Mating brown argus butterflies by Colin Bradshaw
2nd Prize - Photography Competition 2021
Wild barn owl in evening light by Colin Bradshaw
3rd Prize - Photography Competition 2021
Second prize goes to a photo of mating brown argus butterflies, praised for its wonderful symmetry, and third to the majestic sight of a barn owl perched in evening light, both taken in Peterborough by Colin Bradshaw. He wins prizes from Opticron and Campkins Cameras for bagging second and third in this anonymously judged competition.
The top three images will be joined by a further 21 winning photos to create our 2022 wildlife calendar. The other winning photographers are: Victoria Bowers, Daniel Brand, Lester Cooper, Faye Dunmall, Carl Everitt, Mike Harris, Leo Hilier, Matthew Irons, David Jackson, James Littlewood, William Parkinson, Kevin Pigney, John Pitts, Thomas Roberts, Jack Marcus Smith, Simon Stirrup, Magdalena Toruj, Mark Tyrrell and Rahul Walawalkar. Congratulations to all of them.
The judges, who included Chris Galvin from Opticron and past winners Simon Wantling and Ann Miles, had a whole host of fantastic images to choose from, with thanks to everyone who took the time to enter. The competition was judged anonymously and had an overall theme of 'Celebrate the seasons'. 133 people submitted more than 350 photographs for consideration, and entries were of a very high quality. The calendar will be on sale later this year.
We are very grateful for the support of Opticron and corporate members Campkins Cameras, and for the time and expertise of our judges.
The 2022 Photography Competition will be open in the autumn.
