The Wildlife Where I Live photo competition was BBC South Yorkshire's website category in Sheffield Wildlife Trust's 2006 photography competition. We looked for photos of urban and suburban wildlife and wanted you to show us the diversity of plants, animals and natural environments that exist where you live in South Yorkshire. :: Wildlife Where I Live - Steven Key - 'Flurry'Steven Key from Sheffield won the Wildlife Where I Live category of the competition with 'Flurry', his photo of a flock of pigeons, taken in October 2006 near the skate park in Devonshire Green, Sheffield. The judges were looking for photos of urban and suburban wildlife and Steven's picture caught their eye.  | | 'Fox in Low Light' by Vin Rigby |
You can see Steven's picture via the links below, as well as viewing the winners in the other SWT categories, and the best of the rest. "A flock of grimy city pigeons had worked themselves into a frenzy over a recently dumped bag of chips", says 31-year-old Steven who works as a Graphic and Web Designer. "I set up my camera to take a long exposure as I wanted to try and capture the movement and energy of the birds rather than a standard static shot." "I wanted to try and show how a photograph of an animal that we either ignore or shun as vermin can be just as interesting and beautiful as other wildlife."  | | 'Blacka Moor' in Autumn by Roger Butterfield |
"I only bought my first proper camera in April 2006 and viewed this competition as a project to help me focus and improve my photography skills," he says. Steven's prize for the Wildlife Where I Live category is a Fuji A400 and full kit. Sheffield Wildlife Trust awarded prizes for other categories in the competition too. Details of the winning photos are below. :: Wildlife Where I Live runner-up - Vin Rigby - 'Fox in Low Light'Vin Rigby was the runner up in this category for his 'Fox in Low Light', taken in Crystal Peaks. :: Exploring the Trust Reserves - Roger Butterfield - 'Blacka Moor in Autumn'Roger Butterfield's photo of 'Blacka Moor In Autumn' (above) won the category entitled Exploring the Trust Reserves and he took it while on a walk between Blacka Moor and Fox House. "I visit the Blacka Moor reserve every now and then. It was a nice bright autumn day so I just followed my nose!" said Roger, a keen photographer. :: People in Parks and Green Spaces - Chris Senior - 'Green Man Pyrotechnics' | | 'Green Man Pyrotechnics' by Chris Senior |
Chris Senior won the People Parks and Green Spaces category with his photo of 'Green Man Pyrotechnics'. This photo was taken in Endcliffe Park in Sheffield during South Yorkshire Forest's annual Wood Fair. Chris who has been a keen photographer since he was eight, said he was attracted by the burning effigy of the Green Man made of wood - part of the pyrotechnic display. :: Plants and Flowers - Nick Dawson - 'Frost'SWT's Plants and Flowers category was won by Nick Dawson for his photo of fungi on a tree stump in the churchyard of St Peter's in Chains, Doncaster.  | | 'Frost' by Nick Dawson |
"I take my camera around with me a lot", said Nick who also used this photo for his Christmas cards. "I spotted the fungi one day but I wasn't quite happy with the pictures so I went back again. I'm glad I did - the frost happened to be much better that day!" :: Your picturesTo see the best of the pictures entered in the whole of the SWT photography competition, follow the links on the left to 'Winners and Other Entries' on the left and at the bottom of the page. Those links will also take you to galleries of photos submitted throughout the competition. You can also see the BBC South Yorkshire nature gallery, and can submit your own pictures of nature, wildlife, events and places in South Yorkshire: email your photos to [email protected] | 
