The winners of this year’s British Wildlife Photography Awards have been announced, and as always the results do not disappoint.  I have been looking at one fantastic photograph after another. Photographing wildlife is a complex process with a lot of waiting. It is not just a matter of luck of the shot. Rather in the short instance when the photograph comes together the photographer has to be ready to apply all of his/her knowledge and skill to get the image just right.

I have a few favorites among this year’s winners. The overall winner of this year’s contest was this spectacular and inspiring photograph of gannets along a cliff-side in the Shetland Islands taken by Barrie Williams. The flying birds look magically like stars and perspective vanishes. The photograph looks down from the cliff towards the sea, not up towards the sky. Second, is the Chaitanya Deshpande’s brilliantly dreamy mythic allusion, “A flutter in the woods” taken in London and winner of the “A Wild Woodland Category.” Third, is Tomo Brangwyn’s ” A gang of Starlings,” winner of the “Urban Wildlife Category.” I love the angle and distorting perspective. I keep expecting the birds to break into song and dance with “The Jets are in gear. Our cylinders are clickin'” Who’s callin who – a chicken! And finally, there is something truly wonderful about Alex Hyde’s macrophotograph of a “Dew covered crane fly” winner of the “Hidden Britain” category. The background is out of focus but every pearl of water acts like a micro lens revealing what lies behind.

As I’m writing this blog, I obviously am marveling at these photographs again. The real problem is choosing favorites. There are so many eye and imagination catching images among the winners – probably;y all of them. And they teach us the important lesson – look, the world is beautiful.

“Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

Albert Einstein.