NatureWatch photography competition

Click here to view slideshows of more of the spring entries.

Autumn and winter competition

 

 

The EDP and Pensthorpe NatureWatch photography competition has been launched for autumn and winter 2009. We are looking for the best shots of the natural world in East Anglia, with a chance to win fantastic prizes.

This year we are adding a new category for schools, to encourage them to get involved, whether as a class, a year group or perhaps a whole primary school.
Entries are welcome from infants right through to A-level. It could be part of an art or biology project, a piece of homework or part of a school trip. All we need is a group of entries – we want to see pictures from at least five different people, or more if you wish.

The winners in the adult and under-16 categories will win either a pair of Viking Navigator 8x32 binoculars worth £130 or a birdfeeder cam worth £80. This is an easy-to-use gadget which plugs into your television, allowing you to watch birds on your garden feeder close up on your television screen. It has a high-quality mini video camera, with a built-in microphone so you can listen in. Both are available in the Pensthorpe shop, and you can see the birdfeeder cam in action there – images from the birdfeeder in the walk-through aviary are beamed directly into the shop’s television screen.

Runners-up will receive a year’s membership to Pensthorpe for a family of four. Benefits of annual membership include free entry to the reserve, 10pc off gift items in Pensthorpe’s gift shop, discounts for most special events, two newsletters a year and 10pc off for friends and family visiting with you.

The winner of the schools category will win a school day out at Pensthorpe for up to 30 children, including a Meet the Owls experience, which can be arranged at a convenient time. Transport to Pensthorpe is not included.

And the overall winner from the spring and autumn competitions will win tuition from professional wildlife photographer Mike Powles, who runs Nature’s Visions, to help develop their skills and get the best from their photo equipment. Visit Mike Powles' website

How to enter

All photographs must be received in a digital format, either by email, or on a compact disc or memory stick. Send your photographs to sarah.brealey@archant.co.uk or to Sarah Brealey, EDP NatureWatch competition, EDP Features, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RE.
The categories are: Adults, under-16s and schools.
All entries must be clearly marked with name, address, category entered, age if under 16, contact details, and the photographs must be given a title. The deadline is Friday, January 15.

Spring winners

From close ups of colourful creepy crawlies to beautiful landscapes brought to life by the wonderful natural light and big skies of East Anglia, these are the winners of the first EDP and Pensthorpe NatureWatch photography competition of 2009.

When we launched our NatureWatch campaign last year our aim was simple – to encourage more people to step outside and explore the wonderful natural world around them – especially youngsters.
So it was fabulous to receive so many entries from children, some as young as four, for our photography competition for spring 2009.

Over 16s

Dinah Goom has been chosen as one of our winners for the second year – this year in our over 16s category for spring 2009.

Her beautifully lit action packed shot of three hares chasing through a field captured the judges imaginations and despite the incredibly tough competition, they were unanimous in choosing her shot ‘Catch me if you can’ as winner.

Like all our winning photographers this year, Dinah from Gimingham, will win a year’s pass for her and her family to visit Pensthorpe nature reserve near Fakenham for free. Later in the year, she along with all our 2009 winners, will also have their entries judged again to see who will be named overall NatureWatch photographer of the year - the title she scooped last year – and a special exhibition will be held displaying all our winners work at Pensthorpe.

Second place in the category was this incredible close-up of a hairy dragon fly emerging for the spring taken by Andy Thompson, from Toftwood, near Dereham, at Sparham Pools in May and in third place was this picture post-card shot of Binham Priory taken by Tony Aspittle, from near Wisbech.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All about Pensthorpe

This year, we introduced a special new category ‘All About Pensthorpe’, asking you to send in your photographs taken within the nature reserve of the spectacular birdlife, insects and flora. Choosing a winner was extremely difficult – and the panel, featuring Pensthorpe director Deb Jordan – was torn between two very different images of the bearded reedlings. The winner is Malcolm Pugh from Shipdham for his photograph ‘Bearded balancing’.

Coming a very close second place is Jackie Dent from Thorpe St Andrew, near Norwich, for the unusual shot of a mother and baby bearded reedling, and in third is the heart-warming picture ‘Who’s the fairest of them all’, taken by Katie Folkes from Gorleston, of a duckling studying its own reflection in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deb Jordan said: “Choosing a winner from the Pensthorpe category was a challenge in itself. An extremely diffi-cult decision to choose between two stunning images taken in our walkthrough Wader Aviary of the rather elusive and amazingly colourful bearded reedling made all the more difficult because of the wonderful composition and precision of both photographs.
“We were eventually swayed by the expertise of Malcolm, whose dramatic photograph of the male reedling swaying on a lone reed captured the amazing grace and beauty of these tiny birds so exquisitely.”

“Pensthorpe, host of BBC SpringWatch, has something to offer all those who love nature, wildlife and the outdoors. Feed the birds, take part in the new ‘Wild on Wildlife’ activity booklet and become a bug detective, pond dip or collect all the stamps on our stamper trial to win a prize” says Mark Noble, marketing and sales manager at Pensthorpe. Visit the Pensthorpe website

 

Under 16s

Winner in the under 16s category for the EDP and Pensthorpe NatureWatch competition is this beautiful close up of a butterfly taken by 15-year-old Aimee Murphy called ‘My Painted Lady’.

Aimee, from Wymondham, clearly has an eye for detail and the judges were impressed with the clarity of the shot, which must have needed some delicate approach work. The runner-up was Jordan Elliott, aged 10, from Surlingham, for his two photographs ‘Snuggled up in a field’, of some fluffy goslings, and avocets.