Marwell Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2010 Winner Announced

30 June 2010

Marwell Wildlife is today (Wednesday 30 June) pleased to announce the winners of its inaugural photography competition. ‘Swallows Tale – The Chase’ taken by Paul Cook (42) from Glasgow fought off tough competition to scoop first prize. Whilst 14 year old Danielle Connor from Wimbledon Common secured first place in the Junior category with her stunning ‘Little Brown Bug’ image.

The conservation charity received just shy of 2,500 submissions from around the UK, all hoping to be the one to successfully fulfil the brief and ‘capture the essence of nature’.

The stunning image ‘Swallows Tale – The Chase’ was taken at Milton-of-Campsie, Lennoxtown and shows a swallow hunting down a damselfly as it darts for the cover of a wildflower. Paul, a semi-pro photographer, took the photo by chance as he was focusing on damselflies with a macro lens next to a small pond but happened to see swallows flying around: “I was very lucky to spot the damselfly being pursued. I didn’t actually notice it until I was at home looking on the computer screen. Swallows are regular visitors due to rivers and ponds. For this shot I was following the swallows - the damselfly was a lucky surprise.”

Danielle’s winning photo ‘Little Brown Bug’, in the Junior category, was taken at Wimbledon Common whilst walking her dog. “I took the picture at the pond near the windmill. When I got home I thought I had taken some good snaps so my parents told me to enter. Since then I’ve been taking lots more photos, it’s my new hobby. I wanted to take Photography GCSE but school cancelled the course so to improve I now watch youtube videos. I’m amazed – speechless.”

Competition judge Chris Packham, Wildlife TV presenter and photographer, added: “We were overwhelmed with entries for the competition in its inaugural year, and judging was extremely difficult due to the high calibre of photos.”

All the category winners, runners up and commendation photos will be exhibited at the Winchester Discovery Centre, as well as the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 exhibition, from 16 July – 12 September. Prints will subsequently be on display at the zoological park. The overall winning image will also feature in Marwell’s 2011 calendar plus receive a Canon Powershot SX200Is camera. The Junior overall winner will also feature in the calendar and win a Canon Ixus 95 IS camera. 

Other prizes include: camera vouchers supplied by Canon and Park Cameras, gift vouchers, guided photographic workshops around the park from Wild Arena, Marwell Wildlife Annual Passes, dedicated e-cards, A3 prints of each image and a subscription to BBC Wildlife Magazine.

All the winning images from the Marwell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2010 can be viewed online: www.marwell.org.uk/winners

As a charity dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity, Marwell’s zoological park provides a great way to enjoy the wonders of nature close-up, whilst also helping to conserve endangered species and habitats. To buy tickets online visit www.marwell.org.uk