Otter ‘addict’ Brydon highly commended for wildlife photography

An image of a Shetland otter by Brydon Thomason has been “highly commended” in this year’s British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA).

The picture, entitled ‘The Otter Awakening’, was taken in February 2012 by the local photographer, a “self-confessed otter addict”.

The awards were established in 2009 to recognise the talents of photographers practicing in the UK. They serve to highlight the “great wealth and diversity of Britain’s  natural history whilst also aiming to raise awareness about British biodiversity, species and habitats”.

Brydon said he was thrilled to have received the commendation: “Entering competitions is something I only started doing last year when I entered BWPA, so I was quite pleased to receive recognition this year – and especially pleased that it was with an otter image!”

Also highly commended was another Shetland-based photographer, Richard Shucksmith, who was the overall winner two years ago. Brydon and Richard work together on many photographic projects and also collaborate in leading photography workshops.

Richard’s successful image, showing “how much life a horse mussel bed can support in Shetland”, was taken while working with a team of scientific divers from Heriot Watt University.

The divers, whose expedition was led by Drs Bill Sanderson and Jo Porter, offered their congratulations: “Well done Richard, and it’s great to see this important habitat get recognition in celebrating the importance of British wildlife.”