Mammal Photographer of the Year 2021

This year has been a challenging year for everyone. We appreciate that for some of us it has been harder than ever before to get out and about to find that elusive mammal image. On the other hand, some of you may have noticed more visits than normal from mammals you wouldn’t normally expect to see in your area or you may simply have been able to explore your immediate environment much more than you would expect to over the last eight or so months. 

With this in mind, this year’s Mammal Photographer of the Year competition will be a little different than normal. For our 2021 competition we will have just one main category and this will be Mammals during Lockdown.

Mammals during Lockdown

We are looking for photos you have captured either during the lockdown period or simply since Britain started to adapt to the pandemic.

Our judges would like to see opportunistic rather than staged shots: a fox you might have spotted out of the window; a wood mouse in the shed; a deer somewhere you might not normally see one; mammals which you might not normally see together in one place. We have seen some great examples on social media of some of the more elusive mammals such as mustelids and marine mammals – please send these photos in! Some of you may be completely new to taking wildlife photographs and may have simply captured a fleeting moment on your phone. We would love to see all of these images. Points will be awarded for simplicity, naturalness, quirkiness, ingenuity and speed as well as beauty. 

Please note that we will not be having a specific category for Young Mammal Photographers this year, however, photographers of all ages are very welcome to enter! 

Entries will be judged by our panel (see details below) and the prizes will be presented at the opening of the Mammal Society Spring Conference, which in 2021 will be held at Robinson College, University of Cambridge on 16-18 April 2021, Covid-19 allowing. The winning photographs from our 2021 competition will be shown alongside those from our 2020 (postponed) exhibition. Please note that it is likely that only photographs taken with a camera will be included in the exhibition. 

How to Enter

If you have recently (no earlier than 16 March 2020) taken a great photo of a British wild mammal and would like to enter this year’s competition, please be sure to read the terms and conditions below. Once you have done this you can submit your photo(s) using our Online Submission Form. You have until 1 February 2021 to do so!

When filling out the Online Submission Form, we need to know:

• your name in the image title so that we can credit you accordingly;
• your full name and an email address;
• if you are 18 years old or under please let us have your date of birth;
• a brief description of where the photograph was taken and the story behind it;
• whether the photograph was taken on a camera or a mobile phone.

If you have any problems with the online form, please email photos@themammalsociety.org.

2021 MPOY Prizes

Mammals during Lockdown

The winning images in the category will be well-balanced, dynamic and striking photos that catch the eye.

1st prize: 

A day of mammal photography at British Wildlife Centre. Prize kindly donated by British Wildlife Centre.  

PLUS, a £100 voucher from CEWE photographic printers, redeemable on the whole CEWE product range. Prize kindly donated by CEWE. 

Runner up:

£100 of vouchers from CEWE photographic printers and £50 voucher from NHBS, suppliers of wildlife books and equipment.

Prize for best photograph taken on a mobile phone:

An LTL Acorn Scouting Wildlife Camera and a squirrel feeder and food courtesy of CJ Wildlife. 

We are extremely grateful to all of our Mammal Photographer of the Year sponsors. To read more about them click on the individual logos above. 

The 2021 Judges

Brett Lewis

We are happy to welcome Brett back again as judge for the third year running! Brett is a freelance Consultant Ecologist and full member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) with extensive project management experience in both the ecological consultancy and academic research sectors. 

Brett is also a celebrated wildlife photographer with publications in many of the national newspapers, magazines and online media. Brett’s work also appears in academic journals and is used to illustrate scientific publications. He is an active member of his local wildlife recording groups including the Kent Mammal Group, Kent Bat Group and Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group.  

“I love to spend time seeking out our native wildlife. I’m always looking to read and enjoy stories that reflect people’s encounters and first-hand experiences of the natural world.”

Zeb Soanes

Zeb is the Mammal Society’s first patron and he enjoyed judging last year’s photographs so much that he has agreed to take part again! When he isn’t on his doorstep chatting with Gaspard, his friendly neighbourhood fox, he is a busy radio broadcaster and his second popular children’s book Gaspard – Best in Show was published last year and the third title in the series, Gaspard’s Foxtrot, is due for publication in 2021.   

Zeb is a keen photographer and is looking forward to judging the competition (particularly any fox photos that come his way), as well as picking up some tips from some very talented amateurs. 

Penny Lewns

Penny has been President of the Mammal Society since March 2020. She graduated from Royal Holloway College, University of London in the 1980s with a degree in zoology and a keen interest in mammalogy, thanks to mentor and Mammal Society stalwart Dr Pat Morris. Her professional career was kick-started when she landed a job based at Bristol University undertaking a National Badger Survey, involving a 5-year long road trip in a camper van! In 1990, Penny became one of the first Ecological Consultants in the UK, running The Badger Consultancy, later renamed Protected Species Ecology. She specialises in Ecological Impact Assessments and protected species surveys, particularly for badgers, bats and dormice. With a vast knowledge of Britain’s mammals she is very well-placed to judge this year’s MPOY.

Terms and Conditions

1. You can email up to 5 photos of British wild mammals in JPEG format, up to 5Mb (300 dpi minimum), telling us where the photo was taken, with any story that goes with it. Please keep large resolution copies of your photos, in case your entry is placed, for promotional and printing purposes. Please make sure that you include your name in the image title so that we can credit you accordingly. 
2. 1 or more of your 5 entries may have been taken on a mobile phone. If entering a mobile phone photograph the minimum size must be 72 dpi (and 800 pixels on the longest side). Please indicate which of your images have been taken using a mobile phone (please insert this where indicated on the form).
3. Please tell us your full name, age (if 18 or under), whether your photo has been taken on a camera or mobile phone, location and contact details with your submissions.
4. Mammals must be British species and must have been photographed within the British Isles (including UK & Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands., Scottish Islands, Isle of Man). 
5. The Mammal Society does not condone any loss to the highest levels of welfare for any animal when capturing a photo for the competition. If we suspect this might have happened, and cannot satisfactorily resolve this with the owner of the photograph, the image will be disqualified.
6. We reserve the right not to accept entries where the judges have concerns that taking the photograph may have caused undue disturbance. For the avoidance of doubt it would be helpful for entrants to describe their approach where photographs concern juvenile animals, mothers and offspring, or seals at haul-out sites.
7. Entries from professional photographers (those whose main income is their photography) are not eligible to enter. Entries are not restricted to those living within the UK; however, the mammals must be photographed within the British Isles.
8. By entering your image, you agree to grant the Mammal Society the non-exclusive right to publish, feature, reproduce and use it for any purpose at any time in any of its publications, websites and associated media outlets including adverts, cards, press releases, social media, our Mammal News magazine etc in existence now or later invented. The photo will be credited with the photographer’s name wherever possible; however, the Mammal Society reserves the right to use uncredited photos in small images such as those used in social media.
9. Each image can only be entered once, must have been created no earlier than 16.03.2020 and must be your own original work. You must be the sole author and owner of the copyright of all images entered. The Mammal Society does not accept any liability for the publication of unlawfully reproduced images.
10. Computer-generated or computer-altered images will not be accepted, including black and white images. Digital alteration of exposure, sharpness and frame (cropping) is permitted, but other forms of digital enhancement — which could not be achieved through alterations of settings on a manual camera — are not allowed. Artwork and illustrations will not be accepted. Works that have been submitted into other competitions will be accepted.
11. Prizes are as stated; no alternative can be offered. Reasonable efforts will be made to contact winners. Prizes unclaimed within a reasonable time frame will be reallocated. The judges’ decision is final. The competition may be modified or withdrawn at any time.
12. In the event of a prize being withdrawn, an alternative prize of equal value will be offered.