The yearly British Wildlife Photography Award is one of the most exclusive and prestigious awards around, and this year, 20-year-old university student, Jacob Watson-Howland pipped 13,000 competitors to the top spot in the Botanical Britain category.
The Cornwall University student claimed £3,500 as well as the award saying this success on his resume “could really help me potentially get my work in galleries along the line and potentially win more competitions like this in the future”.
The photo was of a streetlit snowdrop flower, which typically resembles the changing of the seasons, and said, “I looked at the spot a few times, but I once came back at night, and it completely changed the shot for the better.”
Mr Watson-Howland told me that he had to go back to take the shot, as he initially forgot his tripod, and warned any future photographers to “not make the same mistake”.
The student comes from a family of photographers, including his dad, but didn’t take it up himself until he was 15, when he got his first camera from Canterbury Cameras, and the manager at the store, Yan Cowley, was proud of what Jacob has gone on to achieve, saying, “it’s always good to see people with a real passion for photography go on and win awards like Jacob”.
For now, Jacob says he will focus a bit more on his studies but is looking forward to a potentially very fruitful career in photography.