16–18 years
Golden stag
PHOTOGRAPHER
Thomas Durrant
CATEGORY
16–18 years – Winner 2025
DESCRIPTION
I’d been searching for this image for some time. Here, everything came together: the stag, the light, the positioning. The golden outline shrouds the individual in mystery, while maintaining the iconic outline.
Lovers in the mist
PHOTOGRAPHER
Thomas Durrant
CATEGORY
16–18 years – Runner-up 2025
DESCRIPTION
I’ve followed the grebes in Richmond Park for several years, learning their habits and how they change through the seasons. I arrived at the ponds before sunrise, knowing mist would form, and positioned myself so the first light would rise directly in front of me. As the sun broke through, the pair began their courtship display. I wanted to convey a quiet grandeur of both scale and beauty. The alignment of light, atmosphere and behaviour makes the natural world so mesmerising.
The ethereal egret
PHOTOGRAPHER
Fred Wall
CATEGORY
16–18 years – Commended 2025
DESCRIPTION
The ethereal egret: a divine deity who radiates seraphic aura like no other. The left of the image is the egret; the right is their perfect reflection in the water. Rotating this image to be portrait rather than landscape creates this stunning effect where the reflection appears to be a third and fourth wing. The splash of water could be a crown, emphasising that sense of astronomical but beautiful power. The angelic queen of the avian afterlife.
Splash of survival
PHOTOGRAPHER
Ben Lucas
CATEGORY
16–18 years – Commended 2025
DESCRIPTION
I’d spent hours by a lake in central London on a cold January afternoon. I noticed a cormorant hunting under a bridge, so I crawled closer to get just the right angle. The soft winter sunlight backlit the scene perfectly, and in that instant, as the bird flipped their fish, light and movement came together. Most people rush past, barely giving wildlife a second glance, but I can’t tear my eyes away. I love giving people a second chance to see what they missed!
Autumn daydream
Photographer
Anton Poon
Category
16–18 years – Winner 2024
Description
I was walking my usual route after school when I saw a little robin, who settled among some bushes. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, the area was basked in a warm light, and the robin was backlit. I went for a portrait, but the minimum focusing distance was too long, so I had to move back and crop afterwards. I got the beautiful autumn colours of distant trees in the background and leaves in the foreground, which provides some contrast and depth.
Warring silhouettes
Photographer
Chris Wardell
Category
16–18 years – Runner-up 2024
Description
Oban Harbour is home to a fascinating colony of urban black guillemots. I noticed that they’d crowd onto an old sea defence as the tide level began to rise. I set up ready to photograph them and waited. After an hour or so, they came and, as there wasn’t much space, there were plenty of disagreements and squabbles between the birds. I realised that if I exposed for the water, behind the guillemots, I could achieve an interesting silhouette as they squabbled.
Puffin portrait
Photographer
Alex George
Category
16–18 years – Commended 2024
Description
I wanted to capture an image of this photogenic and charming puffin who was slightly different and a little bit quirky. Instead of focusing on its impressive beak, I decided to highlight the symmetry of the colourful and angular facial features. Lying on the ground so I was at eye-level with the puffin, I took what felt like hundreds of photographs before I managed to capture a perfectly lined-up, in-focus, head-on shot (it didn’t help that the puffin kept falling asleep!).
Wild freedom
Photographer
Edward Lee Davies
Category
16–18 years – Commended 2024
Description
I took this image while exploring the Brecon Beacons. We were walking along a path when, in the distance, I spotted a herd of horses standing above the hill. This horse was walking apart from the herd. I was drawn to the image as the horse looked lonely and forlorn, particularly against the moody sky and with the wind sweeping its mane. So, I quickly grabbed my camera and took the shot.
Grebe feeding its young
Photographer
Thomas Durrant
Category
16–18 years – Commended 2024
Description
I set out to photograph the great crested grebes on Pen Ponds in Richmond Park one evening. They were tucked into the bank so I approached carefully, camera in hand, and sat in mud at the water’s edge. I observed them for almost an hour but they were behind a small shrub. Then, just as the light was about to sink below the tree line, one of the adults appeared in front of me, fish in mouth, and the young surged towards it.
Top of the rock
Photographer
Alex George
Category
16–18 years – Commended 2024
Description
While visiting the Isle of Lunga in Scotland, I was blown away by the rugged and vibrant coastline and surprised by the variety and approachability of the island’s seabirds. I managed to get close to this stunning razorbill without disturbing it. I used my wide-angle lens to capture an image that made the most of the razorbill’s colourful environment with a busy guillemot colony in the distance. I was delighted when a passing kittiwake flew into frame, adding an extra layer of interest.