Beautiful Birds Bugs and Butterflies

Photographic Competition 2009 - Winning photographs

Kingfisher, Butterflies Spiders and Owls

The Boroughs annual photographic competition attracted over one hundred and forty five entries for the 2009 competition entitled Elmbridge's Beautiful Birds Bugs and Butterflies' The winning photographs' chosen were outstanding in all categories, showing the abundant and beautiful wildlife that is in the Borough and over eighty members of the public made the effort to come along to the exhibition in the Civic Centre and place their vote. Kingfisher photo competition

The winner photograph in the 19 plus category (photo right) was a breathtaking study of one of our most elusive birds, the peacock blue Kingfisher, Ashley Stockbridge a keen fisherman and excellent photographer managed to photograph this delightful bird on one of his fishing trips, a coup in itself because this bird is incapable of staying still in one place. The public voting of Ashley's superb photography also gave him second place with another elusive bird, the Barn Owl, on another of Ashley's fishing trips, when packing up to return home at twilight he happened to catch the owl flying back to his nest in a tree. Ashley returned later with tripod, camera and patience, managing to capture this nocturnal bird as emerged for a nights hunting. There is a family connection in the 19 plus category, third place went to Angela Stockbridge with her colourful photograph of a Mandarin Duck.

This year saw a rise in entries for the younger photographers in the Borough, the winner in the eight to twelve age category received the highest number of votes for a garden spider, complete with its dinner, a juicy fly. James from Walton On Thames crept slowly toward the spider's web in his garden, capturing its lunch break. James spotted moth was a runner up, caught and positioned for photographing on the kitchen table before being released to the nearest light source. The third best photograph in this category was another garden spider, complete with web; Alice from West Molesey snapped this in her Grandmothers garden in the early evening.

In the thirteen to eighteen category the public were hard pressed to choose the winners, the photographs were of an excellent standard and the patience shown by the young entrants is well rewarded in the quality of entries received. The first prize went to Imogen of Cobham with her photograp of a Common Blue Butterfly alighting a budded Centuria. Charlie from Tadworth won both second and third place for her photographs, an amusing 'Ducks Tails in the Air, and The Lonely Heron
The winners received books of professional photographs and books on digital photography. Gift vouchers completed the prize haul.

For information on the 2010 photographic project please contact the |Arts Development Officer