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Balancing butterfly and bee photo wins competition

Sophie ParkerWiltshire
News imageRob Willis A close-up shot of a butterfly on the purple flower of a thistle. Next to it, also head-on with it's face in the same flower, is a bee. They are all in focus, the background is a blurred greenRob Willis
This well-timed shot of a butterfly and a bee sharing space on a flower was a hit with judges

A picture of a butterfly and a bee balancing together on a flower has won a photography prize which asked people to "capture the wild".

Rob Willis took the winning photo at a nature reserve owned by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust (WWT) at Lower Moor Farm, near Malmesbury.

Other highly commended images in the over-18s category included a photo of two owls perched together on a tree stump a shot of a family of deer.

The Wiltshire Wildlife Photography Prize was judged by a panel of three, which included Nick Upton, an award-winning wildlife photographer, filmmaker and biologist.

News imagePhillip Male Two brown owls standing together on a tree stump within long meadow grass. They are both looking in the direction of the camera with yellow eyes. One is standing higher up on the stump than the other. Phillip Male
Phillip Male was highly commended for his picture of two owls perched together on a tree stump

The judges noted the detail captured in the picture of the butterfly and the bee on a thistle, while also complimenting the "perfect focus" Phillip Male captured on the eyes of the owls.

"Patience to wait for this moment has been combined with good technical skill and an aesthetic sense to capture this strong image," they added.

News imageAdam Silk A female deer with two young fawns - they are looking in the direction of the camera and are all standing together. The picture is taken looking up at them slightly, from the ground on the path on the edge of a field. There is hedge on one side and long grass on the other.Adam Silk
The judges were impressed by Adam Silk's photo of a family of deer

Adam Silk's image of a family of deer was said to have been the product of "no doubt huge patience", with the judges adding the deer were in good focus and "framed by the vegetation around them and the sky above".

The photography prize is run by WWT.

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