Judges

As a member of Natural England’s Executive Leadership Group I am Director for West Midlands and for Biodiversity. After graduating in Environmental Sciences I have worked in nature conservation throughout my career and have a deep passion and interest in the natural world and biodiversity. I began my career working in research on pesticides in the environment and seabirds, moving on to ecological survey and applying this to protecting sites,habitats and species. I also have experience in environmental policy and latterly have led and managed national and regional delivery teams in the east of England, the south west and the midlands. My current work is focussed on achieving England’s targets for biodiversity, and in this, the International Year of Biodiversity, working to increase the action for protecting and sustaining our natural environment.

Tom has worked as European Head of Art for Getty Images for the last 4 years, a role which involves creating imagery for Getty’s house collections and managing European Art Direction. Before that he worked as Head of Art Buying for WWAV Rapp Collins for 7 years, commissioning photography assignments for diverse clients such as Sony, LTSB & Friends of the Earth.

Vanessa Kramer is currently Director of Photography at Corbis UK, and works with over 100 contributing European photographers and libraries, with a range of specialities, including wildlife, travel, portraiture, extreme sports and food. Prior to working for Corbis, Vanessa was Chief of Research for Time-Life Books, Europe.

Patrick’s love of photography started when he was given a Pentax Spotmatic at the age of 8. His early life was viewed almost entirely through that viewfinder.
After studying Art at Camberwell, Engineering and Product Design at UCE and a Psychology Bsc at University of London, Patrick embarked on a career in the world of print journalism. He learnt his trade freelancing as a picture researcher on some of the leading newspaper titles The Independent, The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times, before settling at The Sunday Times Magazine in 2004.
Patrick works closely with the world’s top photographic agencies, commissioning some of the finest reportage, art and portrait photographers working today.

As a painter, printmaker and field naturalist Bruce Pearson has combined all three in a 35-year career as a full-time artist working on a range of subjects and themes in the Arctic, Antarctica, West Africa, the Caribbean, and North and South America. It is the rhythm and restlessness of the natural world that fascinates, both in wild landscapes and places where people and human activity interact with habitats to create interesting themes. A painting might be completed directly in the field, while volumes of sketches and studies provide ideas and fresh starting points for painting and printmaking work in the studio.

Since the early 1970s Bruce Pearson's paintings and prints have been widely exhibited in the UK and overseas in many group and solo exhibitions. He has won awards for his work and has undertaken some significant commissions for corporate bodies and individuals, among them the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, the Natural History Museum in London, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and the Office of the Sultan of Oman. He has illustrated a number of books, including also being the author of An Artist on Migration - a personal interpretation of the annual journeys make flowing with the seasons between Europe and Africa. A BBC2 television film was made about part of that journey through West Africa, and other television projects followed - most notably the six-part Birdscape series for Channel 4 Television. He has been president of the Society of Wildlife Artists (1994 – 2004), a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art, and more recently was invited to join the board of the Artists for Nature Foundation.

His studio is now filled with huge numbers of drawings, paintings, notebooks, and sketches reflecting visits to many different parts of the world, and there are still opportunities to travel and find new ideas, see new species and experience different landscapes. But over the last few years the obsessive urge to head off into the field at every opportunity has transferred itself into an equally strong desire to work in the studio, searching instead through the accumulated volumes of creative debris for fresh starting points.

Paul has been at AA Publishing since 2005, becoming Managing Editor in 2007 following two years in the travel editorial department. He is keen to build on AA Publishing’s position as one of Britain’s foremost travel and leisure publishers, and its growing reputation in publishing best-selling photographic titles. The addition of the British Wildlife Photography Awards to its publishing portfolio is a key development, reinforcing the commitment to publishing books of the very highest photographic calibre, and showcasing the very best of Britain and its wonderfully diverse natural environment.

Ross Hoddinott’s fascination for all things ‘wild’ grew the moment his parents moved to rural north Cornwall when he was 7 years old. Being surrounded by countryside, woodland and coastline ignited his passion for nature – particularly the miniature world of bugs and wild plants. As a teenager, most of Ross’s spare time was spent behind a camera. Now in his early thirties, he is one of the UK’s leading professional outdoor photographers. He is the author of six photography books and is part of the 2020Vision team. Ross is a multi award winner in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, and in 2009 was the overall winner of the inaugural BWPA competition.

Visit www.rosshoddinott.co.uk for more information and to view Ross’s work.

Born in Scotland in 1964, Niall Benvie's passion for the natural world was fostered by his late father, Donald, at an early age. After working on the land for seven years running his family's fruit farm, Niall went on to study for an Honors Degree in Geography after the farm was sold. He has worked as a professional outdoor photographer and writer since graduation in 1993. Over the years, the focus of his work has shifted from stock to photographic stories. The core theme has often been the relationship between people and the land. His most recent book, Scotland's Wildlife (Aurum, 2004) is a contemporary review of the state of that relationship in his home country.

Niall Benvie is recognized internationally in his field as a top nature photographer and writer. Read more about his work at www.imagesfromtheedge.com.

Steve is an award winning travel photographer, and writer and editor of Outdoor Photography Magazine. He has worked closely with the BBC in creating travel programmes and has written BBC books such as 'Unforgettable Journeys to Take Before you Die'. Steve has walked on the wild side for 20 years as an adventurer and travel photographer. In the past 8 years he has shot 120,000 images in 65 countries. His pictures can be viewed at www.vividplanet.com.

Managing Director, NaturePicture Library

Helen started her career researching and editing children’s natural history books for Usborne Publishing. She then worked briefly as assistant editor on BBC Widlife magazine and in 1984 took on the management of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competiton and Exhibitions, jointly organised by the Magazine and the Natural History Museum, London. In 1994 she was asked to set up a stills photo library for the BBC Natural History Unit and in 2002 took over the library – now Nature Picture Library – as her own business.

Helen studied French & History at university and then studied for a Certificate in Conservation and Ecology from London University when she became increasingly interested in natural history and environmental issues.

Helen is now an affiliate member of the International League for Conservation Photographers (ILCP) founded in 2005 and the library represents several of their founder member photographers.

Roger Hooper is a photographer who is passionate about wildlife and the environment. He has photographed many extraordinary aspects of our planet and sees photography as a way of informing others of the frailty of the world around us.

An important aspect of Roger’s work is his strong association with WWF and he has photographed a number of their projects. Roger’s photographs have featured in several WWF publications internationally, in his book ‘Dotted Plains – Spotted Game’ and in a number of private collections.

Roger’s love of and affiliation with not just the wildlife, but also the peoples of Kenya, has resulted in his setting up a charity, Hoopers Africa Trust, which schools children who would not otherwise have the opportunity of an education.

In November 2003 Roger founded Hoopers Gallery in London and it is now one of the largest commercial galleries promoting contemporary fine art photography.

Sue Herdman is a journalist who started her career as a feature writer working for broadsheets such as The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Times and the Guardian.

In 1998 she moved to magazine production, working as a Features & Comissioning Editor for BBC Worldwide magazines.

She is currently the Editor of The National Trust Magazine, which this year marks 77 years in production and holds the sixth highest magazine circulation figure in Britain, with 3.6 million readers.

Greg Armfield is the photographic and film manager for WWF-UK. Worked in the photographic industry for 10 years, combining both the NGO sector (National Trust+WWF) and private sector (Emap and Construction Photography). Worked in all facets of the industry, from artistic director (Construction Photography), photographer, editor and commissioner. Has worked for WWF for the last 4 years, originally heading up the photographic department but now also leading on Film. Responsible for all photo commissions.