UPY 2025

UPY 2018 British Waters Wide Angle - Highly Commended
'Humpback whale'
Richard Shucksmith

Sometimes you just have to take advantage of a unique situation. A small group of four humpback whales were hanging around the coast of Shetland. The day before we went to see if we could see them. Luckily for us we saw all four with two of the humpbacks coming just off the point where we were stood allowing my one and half year old son to see them. There was a very short weather window so the next day I headed out with a good friend Brydon Thomason to try to shoot the whales for Scotland The Big Picture. Two of the whales were still there. We spent four hours slowly working with the two whales before an opportunity came to get in the water and within seconds they passed within meters of me. I had never dreamed that I would be shooting humpback whales of the UK coast.

Judge's comment: Sometimes you wait a lifetime for a moment just like this but you still have to get the shot. Perfect timing and framing. A real 'I wish I'd been there' shot.
Peter Rowlands