‘What if you just leave it’ shortlisted by Association of Photographers
My work on rewilding, including this photo of an English Longhorn at Knepp, was shortlisted for a national award.
I am delighted to say that some of my work, done whilst doing my MA at the Arts University Bournemouth, has been shortlisted as one of only eight photographers nationally in the Association of Photographers (AOP) Emerging Talent Awards.
The Annual AOP awards – the ‘Oscars’ of UK Photography – include a nationwide competition called Emerging Talent looking for professional photographers who have been working for three years or less. Coming from a background in nature conservation prior to my MA, I submitted a series of work based on rewilding which was placed as one of only eight finalists nationally.
Despite not winning Gold or Silver in the category, I am over the moon with this achievement given my lack of professional experience. The five images is showcased in an AOP online exhibition and book and can be seen below.
The very intimate and detailed black and white work shows the messiness and complexity of rewilding – a process of nature conservation in which nature takes the lead in its own recovery rather than people. It shows close up photographs of free-roaming English Longhorn Cattle, a Tamworth Pig, fungi and ‘weeds’ - the plants such as Ragwort that many people try to destroy but are essential for the natural regeneration of our biodiversity. I use this to show that rewilding is unexpected, messy, complex, but has amazing results for nature.
And the winner is...
Well, it wasn’t me, but I had to go to the ceremony, and in the top 8 is awesome - like being an Olympics 100m finalist!
I am developing a book to publish soon based on this and similar work - watch this space.
You can see more details at the following links: