Calne photographer wins top award

7:30am Saturday 8th November 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

Delighted David Maitland has beaten over 30,000 entrants from around the world to win two awards in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition.

Mr Matitland, 51, who lives at St Mary’s School in Calne, won the One Earth Award for his image highlighting the illegal bushmeat trade in Gabon, and the Behaviour: All Other Animals category with a photograph capturing a life and death struggle between a snake and treefrog.

Trained zoologist Mr Maitland said: “I am only the third person to win two categories in the competition’s history so I am delighted.

“It would have been nice to win the overall Photographer of the Year prize but I am very pleased to have gained these awards.”

The father-of-three has been a professional photographer since 2006 and has always had a passion for images.

He said: “I have been a naturalist since I was very small and remember buying my first camera at a young age.

”I would use my house as a hide, putting food out for birds and photographing them through the cat flap.

“It was a natural progression for me to leave my position as Zoology lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire to focus on my photography and I am very glad I did.”

The first winning image, entitled Sacrifice, was taken in a gory Gabon backstreet, where Mr Maitland watched as a woman prepared an endangered monkey for sale, while the second, Deadlock, was taken in Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize.

Mr Maitland said: “I go to exotic places because I am interested in the animals and the problems they face, but some of the best work I have done has been in my garden.”

Chair of the judging panel, Mark Carwardine, said “The judges spend weeks in a darkened room, looking at thousands of beautiful images, but the final exhibition photographs have a creativity, originality and sheer drama that set them apart.

“The competition plays an increasingly crucial role in raising the profile of wildlife photography and generating awareness of conservation.”

Mr Maitland’s winning photographs will be on display in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 exhibition.

For details or to view some of his work click on the links on the right.