Last month, I received an email confirming I’d had an image shortlisted in the Environmental category of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards. I was astonished to be recognised in this competition again, after my shortlisting in the Scottish Wildlife Behaviour category last year with Ex-damsel in distress. I am also delighted that another of my images will be published in the upcoming yearbook.
This year’s shortlisted image – Beauty and the Beast – is different in many ways but has one thing in common with ‘Ex-damsel in distress’ – it was a serendipitous moment captured on an everyday walk. One key difference was that this kingfisher was photographed on my urban local patch on the southside of Glasgow, only a ten-minute walk from my home, rather than in an occasionally visited rural spot. I’ve often expressed the view that meandering rather than marching on a daily walk can allow you to spot wildlife photography opportunities you might otherwise miss.
I feel there is a spell at work around kingfishers; break it, and they will disappear in a flash of blue. So, when I spotted this individual, its vibrant azure and orange plumage shining brightly on the end of a branch on an otherwise drab day, I was positive that by the time I had got into position and pointed my camera at it, it would already be powering down the river away from me. But no, there it sat, perfectly perched. It was only when my initial fear that it would fly off abated that I noticed the sheeting caught in the branches behind it.
Usually, just having the opportunity to photograph a kingfisher in fairly close proximity is enough for me, but once I saw the ghoulish plastic sheeting hovering in the background I knew I had to include it in the image. As I couldn’t move my position (behind the railings in a seating area on the riverbank) and the bird was in the branches over the river directly in front of me, the composition of the image really took care of itself. I kept shooting to have the choice of as many kingfisher poses as possible – including one where I could crop out the plastic. But the one of the bird looking out of the frame, with the plastic seemingly reaching out its tendrils menacingly behind it, was my favourite. For the competition I chose a square crop to put the bird right on the edge of the image.
While being shortlisted again in this competition is a source of great personal pride, the subject matter means my feelings about the image are mixed. I hope that it successfully highlights the issue of plastic pollution in Scottish wildlife habitats. But it’s hard not to feel deflated when I encounter wildlife going about the business of surviving surrounded by rubbish on a near daily basis. Kingfishers are currently increasing their range in Scotland but, along with climate change impacts and human disturbance, any pollution in and around our rivers can cause them huge problems.
And while the amount of litter carelessly discarded by individuals is a huge problem, this large piece of plastic, which could easily entangle a bird, came from a local unit or shop. It looked like the wrapping that pallets of stock are covered in when they arrive at a warehouse. This is waste on a literally industrial scale and businesses desperately need to tackle this, based on what I see on my daily walks. The plastic was also in a tree on a stretch of the river that the general public can’t reach. No amount of litter-picking could sort out this part of the river. This needs the local council to come and clear it. My point is that I hope the image points to a larger-scale problem because that’s what we are dealing with.
After being shortlisted in last year’s Scottish Nature Photography Awards, I advised other photographers to discount the story of how an image was captured – which the judges may never hear about – and look critically at the photo. I also suggested entering a variety of images, including those you deem imperfect or unusual – these may be so different they catch the eye. I would now like to add some advice that professional photographer and serial award winner Andy Parkinson gave in his webinar about entering competitions. He reminded us to try to look for images that will work in categories outside of portraits, as this tends to be the most popular category in every wildlife photography competition.
My close-up kingfisher portraits certainly wouldn’t do well in any competitions. As much as I enjoyed capturing them and the breathtaking moments watching these kings (and queens) of the river, the images don’t show anything new. But Beauty and the Beast, with the bird smaller in the frame, obviously appealed for being a little bit different and for suiting the Environmental category it was entered into.
Maybe one day I’ll get a more unique image of a kingfisher that isn’t blighted by human rubbish. For now, I’m happy that an image highlighting the plight of our waterway wildlife will hopefully be seen by more eyes, and raise even more eyebrows.