The 12th edition of British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA) 2024, competition for photography which aims to highlight the nature of Great Britainprovided a spectacle for the eyes with photos of animals enchanting and fantastic aquatic images.
With the registration of “Ocean Drifter” (featured photo of this article), which illustrates a ball of soccer covered in barnacles (crustaceans marine) in Atlantic OceanRyan Stalker had his photo win the overall grand prize and in the “Coast and Ocean” category.
To take 1st place, the photo aquatic de Stalker beat more than 14 thousand images submitted to this year’s competition. The festival, which features professional and amateur photographers — in addition to the most diverse categories — awarded 5 thousand pounds (R$ 31 thousand, in conversion carried out in March 2024) to first place.
This collection is more than just an image gallery; is a celebration, a reminder of the enduring beauty of British wildlife and a call to preserve the natural spaces we are lucky to have – Will Nicholls, director of the BWPA, in press release
In addition to being an impressive record, the winning image raises an important debate about the environmental issue at the UK — precisely the intention of the event. In the case of Ryan Stalker’s photo, he explains that the barnacles attached to the ball are not native to the region, but highlights:
More human waste in the sea could increase the risk of more creatures reaching our homes– Ryan Stalker
For all ages
A championship isn’t just made up of veterans, and there is a boy who knows this very well. In order to increase environmental awareness, the category of young British photographers — which involves teenagers and even children under 11 — had Max Wood, 17, winner with the photo below.
With the title “Running in the Water”, the image captured the exact moment in which a coot bird “runs” low in a lake from Surrey, United Kingdom. According to the young photographer, he woke up at almost 5 am to record the image.
This coot was running away from a fight, running through the water to fly through the fog and rays of light– Max Wood
Check out more aquatic photos from BWPA 2024
The festival also had several memorable aquatic photos in other categories, from recording animals — such as a walrus in Arctic — to the entire ecosystem of the British interior. Check out more clicks made by participants in the 12th edition of British Wildlife Photography Awards.
By Áleff Willian, under the supervision of journalist Denise de Almeida
