Pictures that make you say 'wow': Photographers get up close and personal with wildlife
A stark but stunning image of a damselfly in silhouette has landed its creator with the title of British Wildlife Photographer of the year.
The shot, of the insect clinging to a dew-flecked reed, won photographer Ross Hoddinott a prize of £5,000 in the inaugural British Wildlife Photography Awards.
It was competing against an array of dazzling images which included a flock of birds amassing above a service station canopy and a deer bathed in golden dawn light.
Compelling: The judges awarded photographer Ross Hoddinott first prize for his image of a damselfly silhouette
Judge Sue Herdman, editor of the National Trust Magazine, said of the winner's work: 'We were looking for a winning image that stood out as the most memorable and striking.
'Almost monochrome in tone, this beautiful silhouette is both intriguing and haunting, with a delicate composition and admirable clarity.
Lorne Gill took this image of birds circling above a petrol station called 'The ultimate flock' by Lorne Gill
Ben Hall won praise for his Fallow buck at dawn image
'Droplets of water shimmer on the wings; a fuzz of hairs bristle from the body and, perhaps most fascinating of all, the photographer has caught the "face" of our fly which holds, in profile, a curiously human look.
'No one viewing this photograph, we concluded, could fail to find it anything other than compelling.'
A photo of blackbirds fighting was taken by David Slater who won the wildlife behaviour category
Will Nicholls won the Young British Wildlife Photographer Under 18 award for his image of a red squirrel taken in Kielder Forest, Northumberland
The awards recognised the efforts of amateur and professional photographers.
A shot of a red squirrel peeping from behind a tree in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, landed 14-year-old Will Nicholls the under-18s award and a £500 prize.
A grey seal was captured through the skills of Alexander Mustard who won the Coast and Marine category
Dalmally Primary School in Glenview, Dalmally, Scotland, took the School Youth and Community Group Award for a series of studies. The school was awarded £1,000.
An exhibition of around 80 images, including all the winning and commended entries, opens at the Hooper's Gallery in Clerkenwell, London, tonight and a year-long tour of the exhibition will follow throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
The winner of the Animals Portraits award went to Ben Hall for his Gannet portrait
The winner of the category 'Wildlife in my locality' was this image of a canal by Noel Bennett
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