A picture of a butterfly and a bee balancing together on a flower has won the annual Wiltshire Wildlife Photography Prize.
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust asked people to “capture the wild” in the county, with the winner being chosen by a panel of three judges, including Nick Upton, an award-winning wildlife photographer, filmmaker and biologist.
Rob Willis took the winning photo in the over-18s category at Lower Moor Farm, near Malmesbury, a nature reserve owned by the wildlife trust.
Highly commended images included Phillip Male’s photo of two owls perched together on a tree stump, and Adam Silk’s shot of a family of deer.
The judges noted the detail captured in the picture of the butterfly and the bee on a thistle, while also complimenting the “perfect focus” 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.
Meanwhile, Mr Silk’s image of a family of deer was said to have been the product of “no doubt huge patience”, with the judges adding that the deer were in good focus and “framed by the vegetation around them and the sky above”.
