Wiltshire Wild Snaps 2023: Our winners!
This summer, we asked budding photographers to celebrate Wiltshire’s woodlands.
This follows the exciting news earlier this year that Wiltshire Wildlife Trust purchased an ancient woodland in North Wiltshire called Great Wood*, which covers an impressive 175 acres. The transformation of Great Wood into a nature reserve will enable us to protect one of the county’s few remaining large ancient woodlands and give its wildlife a chance to flourish.
In celebration of this big win for nature, our theme for this year's photo competition was woodlands! Below are our deserving winners.
Adult winners
Our adult entries were judged by Chris Waddell, Group Digital and Publications Manager at Hills, who has provided his feedback for each of our winners.
Credit: Louise Scriver. Winner of the Wiltshire Wild Snaps photo competition 2023.
“Louise’s image of the woodpecker pausing between pecks was not only technically excellent but aesthetically beautiful with the flash of red on the woodpecker’s tail contrasting wonderfully with the soft green background.”
Credit: Mike Harding. Runner up in the Wiltshire Wild Snaps photography competition 2023.
"I chose the fungi because they make for a dreamlike landscape in miniature against the slope of the mossy bark."
Junior winners
Our junior entries were judged by our Young Ambassadors; Chris, Laura and Kody, who have provided their feedback for the winners.
Credit: Joe White. Winner of the Wiltshire Wild Snaps junior photo competition 2023.
"For me, I think that this photo sums up the changing of seasons perfectly, showing our environment gradually moving from summer to the clutches of Autumn with its almost ethereal atmosphere.” - Chris
“Joe’s shot perfectly captures the changing of seasons and the magic of autumn through the earthy colours and mystical lighting.” - Laura
“We all agreed this was a very well put together shot - the autumnal colour palette of oranges, browns & greens coupled with the sun rays glimmering through the woodland canopy creates a truly beautiful scene. I can imagine this making a perfect desktop wallpaper for any nature enthusiast. Well done Joe.” - Kody
Credit: Katy Gillen. Runner up of the Wiltshire Wild Snaps junior photography competition 2023.
"Emperor dragonflies are difficult to get clear shots of so this is a very impressive photograph."
Congratulations to our winners and a huge thank you to everyone who entered.
The photos will be published in our Wiltshire Wildlife autumn/winter magazine in December and will be displayed at one of our Nature Centres soon.
* The Trust’s purchase of Great Wood was made possible by a very generous grant from Biffa Award, a multi-million pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through awarding grants to community and environmental projects across the UK, as part of the Landfill Communities Fund.
