Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year winner

From Wildlife Extra:

Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year award winner

Charlie Phillips wins Scottish Nature Photographer Of The Year award with image of Moray Firth dolphin

March 2013. Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) field officer and wildlife photographer, Charlie Phillips has beaten off strong competition to win the 2012 Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year award, which showcase Scotland‘s nature in all its diverse and fascinating forms.

Charlie, who spends most of his time documenting and photographing the resident Moray Firth bottlenose dolphins as part of WDC’s dolphin adoption programme, was selected for the award by the judging panel from over 2,300 entries from around the world.

His image, Up for Air, shows the split second when a young bottlenose dolphin breaks the surface tension of the water and was taken during a research boat survey trip.

Describing it, Charlie said: “It was a beautiful day, with oily calm, blue seas and no wind – very unusual for up here. We encountered group after group of the resident dolphins during our survey, this one young dolphin surfacing beside us at just the right distance and speed. The conditions were the best that I can remember and I took a total of 2,600 frames that day!”

Judge Neil McIntyre said: “Each year it gets harder and harder to pick not just the winning images but also the shortlisted ones, such is the high quality of the entries. With that being the case it needs to be something special to stand out and that is certainly the case with Charlie’s dolphin image.”

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