Air Winners

Winner

Buzzing along

Photographer: Cameron Smith

"I live in Suffolk, where I took this picture in my garden, on a sunny June afternoon. I had borrowed my Dad’s camera and I was wandering around the plants taking pictures of the flowers and wildlife, when I saw the bee buzzing just by a purple flower and I decided to try to take a photo of it. Luckily it did not fly away, but stayed buzzing from one side of the flower to the other, so I just kept taking lots of pictures until it eventually flew away. I chose this picture because it was sharp and well composed."

Location: Wetheringsett, Suffolk, UK

Camera details: EOS10D, 100mm Macro lens,  shutter speed 180^th Sec, aperture f3.5, ISO 400

Runner-up

Parent Swallow feeding its fledgling on a wire

 

Photographer: Paul Tatner

"This picture was taken while undertaking a BTO bird atlas survey (2007-2011) during July on a Renfrewshire farm in Scotland. Stalking with a handheld telephoto zoom lens and moving into the right place to get the picture is challenging. It is particularly satisfying when one manages to capture that split second image that is so often just a fleeting impression in the mind. This was one of those occasions, as I noticed a family of swallows on the barbed wire fence. Having set the camera to capture an action shot and moved slowly into range, it was a case of waiting. It took about 5 or 6 visits before I was able to get the shot, as a parent would come in at the wrong angle, to a different fledgling, or I’d miss the critical moment of exchange.

The image required very little processing, just a tweaking of the raw image in Photoshop to enhance the clarity and the saturation as dark feathered birds often have a sheen on the plumage which should be apparent. It was tempting to crop in tight in order to emphasize the exchange itself, but its good to put a shot into context, so the thistle was left in the picture as this also enhances the dynamism of the action."

Location: Paisley, Scotland

Camera details: Canon EOS 50D, 100mm on a 100-400mm zoom, 1/500 at f6.3, ISO 200

Highly Commended

Honey bee collecting pollen

Photographer: Clifford Barnes

"The photo was taken in Northern Ireland on a sunny day towards the end of a particularly cold winter. Forage for Honey Bees is limited at this time of year but they must collect pollen in order to rear their young. The most difficult part in taking the picture was to get the bee, which is moving quite fast, in focus whilst crouching on the cold ground to get the right composition. The contrasting colours of the pollen, the Honey Bee and the Snowdrop flowers are particularly remarkable and reminiscent of warmer days to come."

Location: Northern Ireland, UK

Camera details: Canon 500D using a 100mm f2.8 macro lens shot at f3.2 with 1/3200 shutter speed, ISO 200