Ryan Stalker's though-provoking image of a barnacle-encrusted football has won this year's British Wildlife Photography Awards awards. Photo / Ryan Stalker
Ryan Stalker's though-provoking image of a barnacle-encrusted football has won this year's British Wildlife Photography Awards awards. Photo / Ryan Stalker
An image of a football has won the British Wildlife Photographer of the year 2024 competition in the United Kingdom.
The thought-provoking picture by Ryan Stalker shows a discarded ball floating on the sea surface, but below the waterline a colony of goose barnacles are hitching a journey across the ocean.
“The football was washed up in Dorset after making a huge ocean journey across the Atlantic and then returned to the sea for the photo to be taken,” Stalker said of his photograph. “Goose barnacles are not native to the UK but can wash up on our shores during powerful Atlantic storms. Although the ball is waste and should not be in the sea, I do wonder about the journey the ball has been on.”
Image 1 of 21: Coast & Marine runner up - Fire in the night by Dan Bolt. Fireworks anemone (Pachycerianthus multiplicatus) Loch Fyne, Scotland
The winning photo was one of more than 14,000 submitted for this year’s contest.
Winners competed for the £5000 (NZ$10,400) grand prize.
The British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA) showcase nature photography in Britain and are a crucial reminder of the value held by woodlands, wetlands and other ecosystems.
“The British Wildlife Photography Awards brings to light the spectacular tapestry of Britain’s natural heritage,” director Will Nicholls said.
“This collection is more than just a gallery of images; it is a celebration, a reminder of the enduring beauty of British wildlife and a call to preserve the natural spaces that we are so fortunate to have in Britain.”
Photographers entered their work into 10 categories in the adult division and three age-group sections.
The winner of the RSPB Young Photographer award was Max Wood for his evocative photo of a coot running across the surface of a pond in Surrey.
A coot running across a pond in the early morning light won Max Wood the RSPB Young Photographer award. Photo / Max Wood
“I woke up at 4.45am with the hope of capturing backlit waterfowl images at Frensham Pond in Surrey,” Wood said.
“I lay down at the edge of the pond and waited for the birds to become active.
As the morning progressed, rays of sunlight began to shine through trees along the edge of the pond, creating spotlights in the morning mist. This created a beautiful atmosphere, which I aimed to capture in my images.
“This coot was fleeing a fight, running across the water to take flight through the mist and rays of light.”
All awarded images are published by Bird Eye Books in a hardback coffee-table book with a foreword by naturalist and presenter of BBC TV’s Deadly 60 Steve Backshall, available online at bwpawards.org.
The photographs highlight the fragility of the natural environment, often showing how human activity can be devastating to wildlife and ecosystems.
Stalker thinks we should consider the natural environment before throwing things away.
“This waste can also bring creatures that may survive in UK waters and could become invasive species,” he said. “More human waste in the sea could increase the risk of more creatures making it to our shores.”
