A wildlife photographer from Melksham has been celebrating after winning a prestigious award in a national wildlife photography competition.
The wildlife fan has been awarded commended prizes in the Marwell Zoo ‘Residents’ category for his image of a cheeky silver marmoset and the Marwell Zoo ‘Endangered’ category for his Amur leopard mother and cub portrait.
Ralph said, “The leopards were taken last year when the cub was still very young. I waited for a while but was then lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.”
Laura Barwick, image consultant for BBC Natural History Unit and the competition’s head judge said, “This picture is a stunning composition of two well known residents of Marwell Zoo. The clever framing means you get an intimate portrait of an affectionate family bond.
“For me the most striking feature is the little cub’s blue eyes perfectly set against the dark blue shadows of the background.”
The image of a silvery marmoset divided opinion over judges as to whether he was blowing a raspberry or eagerly awaiting his dinner. However, Ralph Harvey said it was in fact meal time for the monkeys. He added, “This particular marmoset would go and quickly grab a bit of food and sit on the stick. I caught him at the right moment when he lifted his head up and enjoyed his food.”
Judges included: Laura Barwick, image consultant for BBC Natural History Unit • Jason Brown multi-international award winning wildlife photographer • Chris Breen, managing director – Wildlife Worldwide • Stuart Martin, award winning news photographer from The Daily Echo • Amy Squibb, editor Digital Photographer Magazine.
Ralph’s winning images will be exhibited at Marwell Zoo for 12 months. He also received tickets to Marwell Zoo and professional prints of his winning photograph.
