Photography Competition 2024 | Essex Wildlife Trust

I See You - Matthew Thomas

Photography Competition

Entries close midnight, 29 November 2024.

Help us showcase the amazing wildlife in Essex by submitting your best photographs to this year's competition. Check out last year's winners and the six categories you can enter below.

A Wildlife Motion Picture

Nature is constantly on the go, from kestrels hovering above their unsuspecting prey to young fox cubs play fighting in spring. Send us your best shots capturing movement within the natural world.

Matthew Thomas - Sleeping Plasterer Bee — Sleeping Plasterer Bee - Matthew Thomas

Captivating Colours

We want to celebrate all of the wonderful colours and textures in nature, whether it be the electric blue of a kingfisher wing or the prickly spines on a teasel plant; portray Essex in all of its wonderful and varied glory.

Wilder Essex

Essex comprises both rich rural habitats and wild urban landscapes. We may not always realise it, but there is wildlife peeking out at us behind every concrete corner. From swooping bats to the colourful wildflowers bursting through roadside verges, this category is for images that portray wildlife from urban environments.

Rainbow Over Beach - Francisco Javier Fernandez

Coastal Captures

With the second longest coastline of all the counties, Essex is home to some of the most incredible fish, cephalopods, rays, sponges, sea plants, crustaceans and sea birds. Take your camera to the coast and see what you can capture!

Gardener’s World

Many of us have been spending more time appreciating the greener spaces close to home. Did you have any unexpected visitors or interesting wildlife interactions? Share the images taken in your Essex garden this year.

Young Blood

Are you aged between 6-16 and have a passion for wildlife photography? Then this is the category for you! Here at Essex Wildlife Trust, we want to inspire a lifelong love of nature and appreciating the natural world through the lens of a camera is the perfect start!

Competition details

Follow the button below and submit your picture (up to three) to the relevant categories. Please provide a high-quality file and as much information about you and the picture as possible.

Submit your picture here

Terms and conditions

Each individual entrant can submit a maximum of three entries, distributed among the categories as they wish. No single image may be entered into more than one category. All images must have been taken in Essex, in 2024. Please ensure each image is no more than 10MB in size.

Entrants are required to provide their full name, email address and phone number. We request this personal data for the purpose of the administration of the photography competition. This data will be processed and stored in a secure manner and will only be kept for the duration of the Essex Wildlife Trust Photography Competition 2024. We will store the data of the winners in order to make contact and to facilitate the award of prizes.

Entrants under the age of 16 years need to have consent of a parent or guardian to enter.

All images submitted to the competition may be used by Essex Wildlife Trust on their social media accounts, associated local, regional, national or international press releases and media, as well as on their website, publications, internal and external exhibitions associated with the Trust and future promotional materials to promote the Trust’s work, unless specifically stated by the entrant. Copyright will always remain with the photographer and Essex Wildlife Trust will make every reasonable effort to ensure that name credits of entrants are reproduced on images published in online and printed publications.

All images submitted must be the work of the individual submitting them. It is the responsibility of each entrant to ensure that any images they submit have been taken with the permission of the subject (where necessary) and do not infringe the copyright of any third party. Entrants must warrant that the photograph they are submitting is their own work and that they own the copyright for it.

The welfare of the wildlife subject is more important than the photograph itself. If entries are found to have evidence of undue disturbance or stress inflicted on wildlife in the process of taking the photograph, the entrant will be disqualified. Please avoid damaging habitat or disturbing wildlife in search of the perfect shot.

Events may occur that render the competition itself impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the promoter and accordingly the promoter may at its absolute discretion vary or amend the promotion. The entrant must agree that no liability shall attach to the promoter as a result thereof.

All information detailing how to enter this competition forms part of these terms and conditions. It is a condition of entry that all rules are accepted as final and that the entrant agrees to abide by these rules.

Submission of an entry will be taken to mean acceptance of these terms and conditions.

If you have any problems uploading your images or you have any further questions about the Essex Wildlife Trust Photography Competition 2024, please email communications@essexwt.org.uk

Our judges

A panel of judges will choose one winner, one runner-up plus three highly commended images from each category. The overall winner will then be decided by a public vote which will open shortly after judging in December.

All images will be anonymous while being judged by our panel.

Competition prizes

Each category winner will be printed in the spring edition of WILD magazine (the Trust's membership magazine).

Winning images will also be displayed at The High Chelmer Shopping Centre in Chelmsford during an exhibition in the spring of 2025.

Photographing wildlife

Careful with flash
Animals are very sensitive to light and can be scared or temporarily blinded by a strong flash. If the light conditions aren’t good, a night vision camera is your best bet.

Don’t get too close
Animals are likely to get stressed and panic if you get too close to their home. They may even feel forced to abandon their location. This can have fatal consequences particularly if there is young. A license is necessary to photograph animals in certain circumstances.

Careful where you tread
Stick to designated paths or tracks. This will mean you are less likely to damage habitat or disturb vulnerable wildlife. You may be on a protected site such as an SSSI where the fauna and flora should not be disturbed.

Protected species
Make sure you know the protected status of a species you are photographing and the laws that protect them. Photographing some species during the breeding season can be seen as a criminal offence.

Don't use tape lures
Playing calls to birds, particularly on a nest, can disrupt their natural behaviour and put chicks at risk.

Always put the welfare of the wildlife first.

Karen Howard, Centre Manager for High Chelmer Shopping Centre, says:

"High Chelmer is delighted to offer space in the Centre to host Essex Wildlife Trust’s annual Photography Competition winners, whilst continuing its established partnership with Essex Wildlife Trust.

Each year we very much look forward to displaying the fantastic images captured around the county showing exceptional talent and vision. The showcase will help raise awareness and appreciation amongst our shoppers to recognise the magnificent wildlife in our local surroundings and engage with nature, whilst helping to promote positive wellbeing and health. Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your day can benefit wellbeing and have lots of positive effects. By showcasing these images, we are bringing wildlife into the Centre to be enjoyed by all."