“Long Tongued Bat Approaching Banana Leaf” is the snappy title of a stunning wildlife image which has scooped a top prize in a UK competition. Marilyn Taylor’s photograph, taken in Costa Rica, is an impressive example of low-light photography. She won the top prize of £5,000 in a competition organised by the national photo retailer, London Camera Exchange (LCE). In addition to the overall winner, there were fourteen category champions, each of which received £500.
Flying like ghosts
Describing the episode, Marilyn Taylor recalls, “it was so dark that it was very difficult to see these tiny bats flying like ghosts. We could only photograph for a short time, as they soon flew off. This was probably one of the most interesting shoots I’ve ever been on – it was absolutely fascinating. The fact that I achieved a couple of super images out of it was a terrific bonus.”
Marilyn, from Woking in Surrey, has a background in engineering from Oxford and now balances her time between freelance photography and playing golf. She is no stranger to photographic competitions, having previously won several contests and national gold medals. She was the first recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Digital Group PDI Raymond Wallace Thompson Trophy.
Marilyn is currently studying at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham for a Master of Fine Art Photography, working on diverse projects including the ‘Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Fine Art Photography’ and ‘Visual Alchemy’.
Category winners
Here is a selection of some excellent category champions in a very talented group of winning photographers.
Anti Gravity Dog
Sailing
Valencia Opera House
Ready to depart
You
Runners-up
Even among the runners-up, there are outstanding photographs. Here is a selection from the Nature category.
Larval Octopus
Anybody Home?
Vole’s Eye View
Sycamore Gap – The last Show
I am sure you will agree, the standard of photography is here is superb. I would go as far as saying that these images are much more inspiring than those we often see from winners of Leica Awards. Congratulations to the London Camera Exchange on the success of their inaugural competition. Hopefully, this will become an annual fixture in the photography calendar. You can see more examples, as well as read the stories behind the photos, here.
London Camera Exchange
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