2008 Nature Photography Competition

The Scottish Biodiversity Week 2008 Nature Photography competition drew to a close in August and once again proved itself to be one of the most popular elements of the Week. It drew a large number of entries all endeavouring to encapsulate the theme of this year’s competition – NATURAL INSPIRATION

The judging panel, led by Cairngorms-based expert natural history photographer, Neil McIntyre, selected the three winning images.
View our top 30 favourites including the Winners in our gallery.

1st prize winner - Paul Cook with his image of a swallow in pursuit of a dragonfly
Neil said: "This stunning image has many reasons for it being the winner, it has action, wonderful contrasting colours, perfectly composed and it show' and tells a story which is often an over looked ingredient for a good picture. This is not a picture you just glance at, it is one you would look at time and time again and still be enthralled at the chase."

Paul said of his photograph: "I had been attempting to capture a clear shot of the swallow swooping around the flower in the middle of a field of crops in Milton of Campsie, but it wasn't until I got home that I discovered I had also captured a damselfly in the frame."
Paul has won an all expenses paid place on one of Neil’s photography workshops.

2nd prize - Stuart Lowrie with photograph entitled Proud Mum

Neil commented: "It is clear that Stuart thought about this composition and waited and caught the moment of interaction between the adult & young. It was the bold composition of this image that made it stand out. A gannet colony is a heaving mass of birds and it can be a bit overwhelming to photograph. By getting in so close the photographer as managed to exclude all else and capture this lovely intimate moment."

Stuart told us: “This was one of the last photos that I took on what was a very memorable day. A truly magnificent wildlife spectacle right on our doorstep!” Stuart has won a whale and dolphin watching trips which was kindly donated by the Isle of Mull based Sea Life Surveys.

3rd prize - Derek McGinn

Derek has won a year's subscription to BBC Wildlife magazine, with his image entitled Twite at Balranald. Neil commented that "Derek has managed to create a lovely calm peaceful image, with such a nice clean background the Twite stands out beautifully. This picture also has a simple but lovely composition."

In addition to selecting the top 3, the panel also decided which 30 entries should go into our online gallery. Congratulations to all those whose photographs are showing were chosen.

Last, but by no means least - a very big thank you to everybody who entered the competition - it was a pleasure to view your entries. We hope you will keep an eye on the website in the run up to Biodiversity Week 2009 for details of the next competition.