British Wildlife Photography Awards

I am extremely pleased to have been awarded Winner in the Botanical Britain category in this year's British Wildlife Photography Awards. The winning image, below, titled "In the shadow of Giants" is of a tiny mushroom called a Saffrondrop bonnet overshadowed by enormous beech trees.

I took the image in King's Wood, near Challock, Kent, last November where I spent a week shooting autumn colour and fungi. As the days passed I became increasingly fascinated by the symbiotic relationship between the miniature and the gigantic and, with this in mind, I strove to illustrate this as best I could.

Saffrondrop bonnet mushroom

The standard of the entries was very high indeed and a great representation of British wildlife. Well done to all the other winners and commended entrants. You can see the winning entries, here, on the BWPA website. The exhibition will be touring the UK (venues and dates can be found on the BWPA website) and for those of you residing in Kent, it'll be at the Whitstable Museum and Art Gallery from 5th October to 6th January 2014.

The presentation took place at the Mall Galleries, in London, on September 4th, hosted by Chris Packham who, I have to say, did a fantastic job, despite wearing a suit in the sweltering heat of the room! Not meaning to be sycophantic, I have always admired Chris' knowledge on all things nature (he's also a darn good photographer!) and particularly for the fact that he doesn't mind putting his head over the parapet, airing his views on contentious subjects such as the badger cull. During the ceremony he did just this with eloquence and thoughtful insight. I wish more would be prepared to do this. They may be surprised by how much more they are respected!

Following the announcement I was contacted by BBC News South East to do short piece on how I captured the image and my work. Both the interviewer (Ellie) and cameraman (Kieran) did a fantastic job, not least in making me feel (quite!) relaxed infront of camera. I hope you enjoy it.