Award

British Wildlife Photography Awards 2025

The British Wildlife Photography Awards Edition 13 - how the competition works, and my photograph "The Portal to Heaven" being included in the 2025 BWPA book.

Published 10 September 2025

The British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA) runs annually, with entries open from March to June, then judging done through the summer with RAW file requests in late September or early October. Those in the book are informed later that calendar year, with those being commended or winning categories announced in the spring, before the process repeats.

The competition is a staple of British wildlife photography, attracting well over 10,000 entries. Whilst it has a broad range of categories specifically in wildlife, my main focus is usually on those that have more of a landscape spin: Wild Woods, Botanical Britain, and Habitat (e.g. deer in a wood).

I particularly like the book that is released, which includes a lot more images than those that are awarded. I estimate there are roughly 450 images in the book, whereas only around 60 images receive an award.

The 2025 British Wildlife Photography Awards book

In the 2025 competition (with entries being in June 2024) I had one of my images included in the beautiful hardback book released along with the winners in March 2025. This meant it was a finalist and then subsequently selected for the book, but not given an award. I presume this means it was ranked in the upper percentile of their judging process.

It's a humbling experience being published alongside such prestigious company. As someone who has always loved photography, and has often either purchased or browsed books like this one, seeing my own photography in there definitely felt like a "pinch me" moment.

The photograph that was included was from "that morning" in the local bluebell beechwood, where I saw magical sunbeams blasting through the side of the woodland. The photograph is titled "The Portal to Heaven".

You will find my entry on page 41.

You can purchase the book here: British Wildlife Photography Awards 13

Low sun breaks through a misty beech canopy at first light in the Chilterns, Oxfordshire, casting crepuscular rays across a dense bluebell floor in full bloom. The residual ground mist diffuses the light into distinct shafts, separating the tree trunks in receding planes and lending the scene an unusual depth. The combination of ephemeral conditions and peak flowering places this firmly within a narrow seasonal and meteorological window. Buy this print →

The BWPA winners from 2025

I'd thoroughly recommend browsing the Highly Commended and winning images from the British Wildlife Photography Awards 13 (2025).

You can see them here: BWPA 2025 Winners

My personal favourite from this year's winners has to be "Storm Light Over the Caledonian Forest" by James Roddie. This shows a rainbow and beautiful storm clouds over iconically Scottish rolling peaks, with equally iconic gnarly Scots pine trees in the foreground, lit up in striking sunshine. This creates such a magical contrast in the scene, depicting the Scottish weather so beautifully. Congrats James, it's a beautiful capture and well deserving of the Wild Woods category win.

I'd also like to mention "Woodland Oasis" by Robin Dodd, which was awarded Highly Commended in the Wild Woods category. This is a photograph taken in my own local area, the area that Robin (aka Fast Fox Photography) has been photographing for a very long time. I'm a relative newcomer to the area, and have had the pleasure of bumping into Robin on several occasions. His photograph depicts a beautiful woodland pond surrounded by old beech trees, that changes so dramatically through the seasons. His photograph captures it during springtime fog, with hints of purple in the distance from a patch of bluebells. Again, congrats to Robin for being awarded — it is very well deserved.

Looking forward to BWPA 2026

I'm pleased to say that I've had several images where RAW files have been requested (as of September 2025). This means these images have reached the final stage of judging, and could possibly end up awarded, in the book, or neither.

Here is the current timeline for the competition:

November '25 — Photographers in the book are informed
February '26 — Category winners are informed
March '26 — Winners are announced at the awards ceremony
March '26 — BWPA 2027 opens for entries (verify — see timeline_check)

I'm excited to see there is the possibility of an awards ceremony in 2026, as this was skipped for the 2025 edition of the competition. I will keep my fingers crossed. Thanks again to the judges and the organisers.

I went on to win the British Seasons category in BWPA 2026, and was Highly Commended in Wild Woods.