North Devon wildlife photographer wins top national award
The award-winning picture shows the bird leaping from the water and was taken in Antarctica
A wildlife photographer from North Devon has taken first place in the Birdlife category of the prestigious British Photography Awards 2021.
Tim Hearn’s image ‘Gentoo penguin porpoising’ was named best by a panel of top photographers and picture editors in a virtual event streamed online.
The award-winning picture shows the bird leaping from the water and was taken in Antarctica.
“Gentoo Penguins porpoise like this when swimming to confuse any Leopard seals or other predators that might be lying in wait” says Hearn.
“The challenge for a photographer is to work out when and where the penguin is going to appear next.
“They’re only in the air for a split second and the boat was rocking so I was happy to catch this bird at just the right moment against the dramatic background of the iceberg”
It’s not the only contest that Hearn has won recently. A few months ago his image of a bug-eyed damselfly peeking from behind a twig won the ‘Creatures of the Air’ category of the popular Comedy Wildlife Photograph Of The Year awards.
“That one was taken in the back garden” says the Woolsery-based photographer “so you don’t always have to travel far from home to find good wildlife subjects.”
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