Your Local Wildlife

Wildlife doesn't have to be exotic or oversized to be worth photographing. Here light and colour are used to turn a simple butterfly and plant, just like most of us could find in our gardens or the streets round our homes, into something really striking. The subjects are sidelit, so they stand out against the unusual, rich blue background. There's absolutely nothing within the frame that isn't needed for the picture, and the off-centre composition adds extra impact to the photo.

If you're asked to photograph local wildlife, living in a city makes things rather more challenging. However, if you're within reach of the coast or a tidal river, you're pretty much guaranteed to have plenty of gulls within photographic reach. The rising sun turns most of the cityscape here into a silhouette, backlighting the gull so its feathers stand out brilliantly against the dark background. Lit from the front, this shot would have been commonplace; backlit, the bird creates a sense of freedom amid the built environment.

This gannet is a real star! The judges liked the asterisk shape formed by the bird in this image, and the nicely blurred background means all your attention goes straight to the subject. Usually we'd advise against photographing birds from behind as most of their appeal is in their expressions, but the fact that this one's head is tilted to the side so you can see its eye, and the way its tail is nicely fanned out, means that rule doesn't apply here. An eyecatching, fun picture.

What the judges really liked about this image was its combination of striking composition and the very simplest subjects. House sparrows are one of the commonest birds on the planet, yet this one's position, clinging to the surface of the gazing ball, is extremely unusual, adding interest to a photograph of a familiar creature. The house reflected in the ball is a perfectly ordinary one too. This is wildlife as local as it gets - yet the image is far from everyday.

You get all ready to photograph your local wildlife, and what do you know - the wildlife comes to you! The way this little frog has decided to bask in the light of a Speedlight made the judges chuckle. The photographer was clearly all ready for an atmospheric night-time shoot, and while they could have cropped in tightly to remove the flashgun from the frame, leaving it in gives the overall image a sense of humour, and shows the way animals sometimes choose to interact with people.

You can tell from the structure of the feathers and the beak that this is a young fledgling, probably huddled up in its nest. You need to take extreme care when approaching a subject like this, to avoid frightening it or scaring the parent birds away. It's the sort of situation where local knowledge really comes into its own, because you'll have had the chance to observe your subject over time and know when it's best to approach. The photographer has got the depth of field spot-on, with a sharp eye and softer feathers further away.

Our theme was 'local wildlife', and this shot displays the locality as beautifully as the creature that lives there. The freedom the wild pony enjoys is clear, as the hills and plains roll back behind it, with space and open air all the way to the distant horizon. The sky is as much a feature as the land, with the texture of the clouds echoing the rugged landscape. Nonetheless, the pony is clearly the subject, standing squarely in the front of the scene, separating you from his countryside.

Badgers are creatures of habit, so if you get to know where your local ones like to forage and drink, you can increase your chances of getting a good photo of one. With their stripy faces, they make excellent subjects for photography – they've a full range of tones built in! The judges liked the way this one is carefully watching the photographer, and the way that it is only seen in full as a reflection; it's an unusual way of looking at a well-loved, familiar animal.