Wildlife Photographic Journals

BBC Countryfile Photographic Competition

I decided to enter the BBC Countryfile Photographic Competition this year which had the theme of 'animals in action'. This is a very popular competition which has the prize of the 12 finalists being used to create a calender to raise money for Children in Need. You could enter 4 photographs and I was going to enter four hare shots but at the last minute decided to enter 3 hares and a puffin. A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by the BBC and informed that the puffin photo had been selected by the judges as one of the final 12. The puffin shot entered is below.
Having announced the final 12 there was then a week of public telephone voting to decide the overall winner. As I heard nothing for a couple of days after the phone lines had closed, I assumed that someone else had won. However, unbeknown to me there was all kinds of secret plotting going on in the background, the first of which I knew about it was when a film crew burst into a meeting I was having at work. The surprise was further compounded by having my parents, my better half and some family waiting outside the door. I was then whisked away by the film crew to the local area of coast to record some further footage. The programme went out last Sunday and can be viewed for the next seven days on BBC iplayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?uri=%2Fiplayer%2F&go=toolbar&q=countryfile

The bit of the programme with my appearance starts at 44 minutes and 20 seconds into the programme.

So I would like to finish this post by thanking all the people who made the BBC visit such a surprise and pleasant day, to the judges for selecting the photo, to the public for voting for it, to my parents for making the long trip north but most of all to my better half , Dawn, for putting up with all those early mornings when I creep out of the house.

The calender can be purchased online from the following:

https://www.hcsonline.co.uk/countryfile2009/home/index.asp