Newton Abbot wildlife competition winners praised for ‘truly wonderful’ work
Newton Abbot Museum has announced the winners of its wildlife photography competition, with entries inspired by the natural world and the museum’s summer exhibition
A Dartmoor wildlife photograph has won the adult category in Newton Abbot Museum’s wildlife photography competition.
Pride of place in the adult category was awarded to “Fox Cubs on Dartmoor”, captured by Silver Levy-So.
BBC wildlife filmmaker Andrew Cooper judged the entries, and his work has been the subject of a summer exhibition at Newton Abbot Museum, as previously reported by The Moorlander.
Lily Little won the teen award for the 13-17 category with “The Catch”, (pictured below) while Victoria Wolley was named winner of the children’s award for the 5-12 category with “Dragonfly”.
Chris Vincenti’s “Kestrel” and Naomi Stolow’s “Gannet” were both named Highly Commended.
Cooper, who was born and raised in Newton Abbot, said the standard of entries had been high across all age groups.
“It has been an absolute pleasure judging this year’s entries,” he said.
“The quality and diversity of the photography submitted across all age groups, from young children to adults, has been truly wonderful.
“Capturing the natural world requires immense patience and a good eye, and these winning photographs highlight the amazing wildlife we have right on our doorstep here in Devon.”
The winners received a £20 voucher for the long-standing family-owned local business, Austins Department Store.
Their photographs, along with the Highly Commended entries, will be displayed at Newton Abbot Museum until Monday 12 October.
Joanna Eccles, curator at Newton Abbot Museum, said the competition had received a strong response.
“We are thrilled by the response to our Wildlife Photography Competition which ran alongside our summer exhibition celebrating wildlife filmmaking,” she said.
“The work of our winners and commended entrants is exceptional and we would encourage everyone to visit the museum to enjoy local photography talent and be inspired by local wildlife.”
The prize-giving event took place at Newton Abbot Museum last Saturday (12 September(.
Entry to the museum and its exhibitions is free.
The summer exhibition, The Golden Age of Wildlife Filmmaking, celebrated Cooper’s work and career alongside historic memorabilia from natural history broadcasting.