Under 12 mobile phone and devices
Slippery slow worm
Photographer
Arlo Rautenbach
Category
Under 12 mobile phone and devices – Winner 2024
Description
I was resting on Polly Joke Beach in Newquay after an exciting surf. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a slow worm slithering down the cliff. I've always loved animals and this was an impressive and unusual sighting as I’ve never seen one on a beach before. It was a challenge taking the photo because the slow worm was slinking so quickly towards the beach. I’m pleased that I captured it moving between the contours of the rock.
Kenyan scorpion under UV light
Photographer
Monty Noble
Category
Under 12 mobile phone and devices – Runner-up 2024
Description
I took this photo of an eastern bark scorpion in Tsavo West National Park while I was on holiday visiting my uncle in Kenya. They’re just 4cm long, are found on rocks and fallen wood and are a dusky yellow-brown, which makes them difficult to spot during the day. However, at nighttime they come out to hunt and we used an ultraviolet light to find them. The ‘hyaline’ layer of the scorpion’s exoskeleton glows brightly under UV light, which makes them easy to spot.
The grumpy snail
Photographer
Queenie Forshaw
Category
Under 12 mobile phone and devices – Commended 2024
Description
I absolutely Iove snails and always move them off the path so they don't get trodden on. I chose to photograph this snail because he looked really enthusiastic and was climbing the grass at top speed to get to me. I think this photo shows that sometimes the smallest things are the most extraordinary. While I was taking the pictures, he was doing lots of poses, like ‘grumpy snail’, ‘bright snail’ and ‘daydream snail’!
Sunny honey
Photographer
Pippa Phillips
Category
Under 12 mobile phone and devices – Commended 2024
Description
I was in a field of sunflowers and all you could hear were bees buzzing. I wanted to show them working hard and here you can see the pollen on their legs. I love how the bright yellow makes the bee's eyes look really dark. I had to stay very still so one would land close enough to me.