Thanks to a fox visiting my garden earlier this year, I am delighted to say I have won the 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s Urban category with my image ‘Shadow Walker’. With the photo having been taken in my back garden, as part of a project I’ve been working on for the last year, it comes with a huge sense of personal satisfaction (and a little disbelief).
I spent Tuesday night in the company of some of the worlds most talented wildlife photographers at the awards dinner, held inside the London’s Natural History Museum. It’s the perfect setting for this event and seeing all the winning images projected across the main entrance hallway is incredible. During my brief speech, as well as thanking my life for having the most amazing patience for me turning the kitchen into a hide all year, I also paid tribute to a wonderful lady and fellow wildlife photographer, who sadly lost her battle with long term illness this year, Rebecca Jackrel. I know she is missed deeply by those that knew her within the industry, and outside of it so it felt like the most fitting of times to say a last goodbye, in my own little way.
The idea behind the image itself, was to tell the story of how urban foxes are often caught as just the briefest of glimpses as they run from one shadow to the next, as we go about our lives, often unaware. I didn’t want to merely light the fox in a dark place, as that would lose the narrative of the story, and so I set out to capture the shadow of the animal itself. You can find out more about the project that led to this image, as well as find out more about how the photo was taken, in my new eBook which can be found here – Back Garden Safari.
Finally, a huge congratulations to all the photographers in this years competition. The standard is exceptionally high this year, with Don Gutoski and Ondrej Pelánek winning the highly prestigious titles of Wildlife Photographer and young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, respectively.
The 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is a spectacular one and well worth going to see if you have the chance. For more info, please visit the competitions official website.