A stunning new exhibition has opened at the Manx Museum showcasing the island’s photographic talent capturing local wildlife.
The Wild Mann nature photography competition attracted more than 200 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels. Entries were judged on their creativity, originality and technical excellence by a panel of photography, art and wildlife experts.
The result of the exhaustive judging is the new display at the museum which opened to the public at the weekend.
There is a range of entries with some taken with professional-grade equipment while others were simply captured on an i-Phone.
Laura McCoy, Manx National Heritage Curator for Natural History said: ‘What most impressed the panel was the beauty, behaviours and diverse range of species found in our island biosphere, captured perfectly on camera.’
Paul Bromley’s stunning photograph of a short-eared owl triumphed as the overall winner. Captioned ‘I can see you!’, the outstanding photograph was captured on a late September evening at Castletown Golf Course when five short-eared owls flew in off the sea.
Competition judge Dr Jeremy Paul said: ‘To get a decent photo of a short-eared owl is hard enough, but to capture an image such as this is simply amazing. Totally perfect - the sort of image that most wildlife photographers can only dream about.’
Tom Hannah’s image of cotton grass at Eary Cushlin, Ben Houghton’s image of a tompot blenny poking his head out of his hole and Paul Quellin’s ‘Evening in Hare Meadow’ are among the stunning photographs featured in the exhibition.
The exhibition opens to coincide with the start of Manx Wildlife Week, a week-long celebration of the Isle of Man’s natural environment, which takes place at venues across the Isle of Man from April 27 to May 5.
Prints and cards of all the images can be ordered at www.magnoliabox.com/collections/manx-national-heritage-wild-mann. The exhibition will remain on display at the Manx Museum until Sunday June 23. Admission to the Manx Museum is free, with donations welcome.
