The wonders of the natural world – celebrating the best of British Wildlife photography at Moors Valley (Dec 2017)

Featuring stunning images from across the country, this year’s exhibition reveals moments of natural glory in both town and country captured forever by some exceptional photography. The images were selected from thousands of entries and raise awareness about biodiversity, British species and their habitats.

Alongside amazing close-ups, incredible underwater images and revealing habitat shots, the overall winning image is the perfect reminder that wildlife can be found in the most ordinary of places. Highlighting the wildlife benefits of an urban environment Daniel Trim’s photograph of ‘Heathrow Roostings’ shows a pied wagtail silhouetted by the lights of the airport’s Terminal 5.

Daniel said, “Urban pied wagtail roosts are incredibly important for the birds’ survival during these harder times, both for the additional warmth our buildings generate but also because there’s safety in numbers……I spent time looking for birds I could isolate against interesting background lighting. The birds soon tuck their heads under their wing to sleep…you have to get lucky with one waking up briefly to have a look around.”

Seven local images, from Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire were highly commended in this year’s awards including two taken by Wimborne-based Robin Goodlad. In the Portraits category his ‘Ring in Bright Water’ captures an otter making a perfect circle in the water, whilst his second image, ‘Ethereal Dawn’ is in the Wildwoods category and shows a carpet of wild garlic in Dorset woodland.

Robin said, “I have always been fascinated by otters, and whilst you can see them much more regularly on the rivers of Dorset, it is much more difficult to observe their magical underwater behaviour, and what phenomenally agile creatures they are. Whilst photographed in captivity, this was still not an easy photograph to achieve. Good timing was key to capturing that brief moment when he came in for a perfect circle, and to me this extraordinary behaviour is what makes the photo for me – a ring in bright water”.

Moors Valley is the only location on the south coast to host the BWPA national touring exhibition. Recently announced as Dorset’s best large attraction in the Dorset Tourism Awards, one of the Park’s core objectives is to provide opportunities for visitors of all ages to experience, understand and learn about Moors Valley’s wildlife and wider environmental issues. It is one of‘ the best places in the UK for dragonflies and home to all six species of British reptile as well as a highly successful water vole reintroduction programme.

Communication Ranger Katie Davies said, “With its 15 categories the BWPA exhibition showcases the amazing diversity of British wildlife. We hope it will prove an inspiration to everyone who sees it to take a moment to stop and enjoy the visual splendour of the natural world that surrounds them.”

The British Wildlife Photography Awards exhibition opens daily in the Visitor Centre and Ranger Den at Moors Valley Country Park from 20 January – 4 March.. It is free to view. Parking charges apply. For more information go to www.moors-valley.co.uk or call the Rangers on 01425 470721.

The 2018 British Wildlife Photography Awards open for entries in early February. Details can be found at www.bwpawards.org

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Editors Notes

BWPA high res images are available for publicity about the British Wildlife Photography Awards and the book. Any further use will require permission and a fee.

Photos: 

Always credit each photographer and include the competition’s web address and link. www.bwpawards.org
Please use #BWPA2017 if mentioning the competition on your social media channels and link to www.bwpawards.org
To request free use of photos for features or web galleries, or to arrange a review copy of the book or reader offer, please contact: Paul Eckersley, Publicity Officer, GMC Distribution: paul.eckersley@thegmcgroup.com / 01273 402836
OR on weekends: Maggie Gowan, mail@maggiegowan.co.uk / 07767 337 359

Exhibition Tour: (Check with the venues for their opening times)

The Mall Galleries, London, 7 November to 12 November 2017
Nature in Art, Gloucestershire, 7 November to 2 January 2018
Horniman Museum, London, 25 November to 14 January 2018
Astley Hall, Lancashire, 25 November to 31 December 2017
Stockwood Discovery Centre, Luton 20 January to 25 March 2018
Moors Valley Country Park, Dorset, 20 January to 3 March 2018
Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock, 10 March to 29 April 2018
Nunnington Hall, Yorkshire, 19 May to 15 July 2018
Redbrick building, Glastonbury, 16 July to 25 August 2018

BWPA is Sponsored by:
Canon, WWF, RSPB Wildlife Explorers,The Wildlife Trusts, Manfrotto, Shetland Nature, Countryside Jobs Service, Buglife, Paramo, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Wild Arena and Outdoor Photography Magazine.

Supported by:
Ammonite Press, Kristal Digital Imaging Centre, WildFilm.com