Marwell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

28th January 2011

Hampshire’s prestigious wildlife photography competition returns and Marwell Wildlife is calling all budding photographers to enter images which celebrate the variety of wildlife and capture the essence of nature. Open to professional and amateur photographers of all ages, this year’s competition has three categories to choose from plus a brand new ‘people’s choice award’.

The three categories to enter are:

1) Native Wildlife – flora and fauna from the British Isles
2) Marwell Wildlife residents – portraits captured at the zoological park
3) Funnies – nature at its most amusing.

To enter visit www.marwell.org.uk/photocomp. Up to five images can be submitted per person. A charge of £5 applies, although junior entries are free. Deadline is 4 June 2011. Competition rules and details on image sizes can be found on the website.

The official Marwell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 accolade, plus a wide range of great prizes are up for grabs, including: photograph appearing in Marwell’s 2012 calendar and on display in the zoological park and the Winchester Discovery Centre, Canon compact cameras worth up to £299, Wild Arena and The Flash Centre gift tokens, annual subscription to BBC Wildlife magazine, Marwell Wildlife animal encounter, day passes and annual membership, Photographic workshop at the zoological park with Wild Arena, and photographs turned into specially created e-cards.

The competition judges are: 
Sophie Stafford, BBC Wildlife Magazine Editor
David Southard, Wild Arena photography workshops
Guy Edwardes, Professional Photographer
Kirsty Nutbeen, Winchester Discovery Centre Gallery Curator
David Fidler, Canon UK Account Manager
Kath Weston, Marwell Photographic Group Chairman
Paul Simmons, Head of Marketing Communications at Marwell Wildlife
Judi Hussey, Volunteer Photographer at Marwell Wildlife

Last year’s competition received 2,500 submissions from around the UK. The winning photograph was a stunning image of a swallow hunting down a damselfly as it darts for the cover of a wildflower, taken by Paul Cook (42) from Glasgow.