In view of the fact that there were so few entries in the previous "Digiscope" section, the YOC Committee decided that the cup, previously awarded to the winner of the "Digiscope" section would, instead, be awarded to the photograph which the Judge decided had outstanding merit.

We had only one Judge this year, Jean Smith being unable to attend. So, the enormous responsibility fell on (and all the boos and hisses were directed at) the courageous Paul Doherty!

Paul said that the quality of the entries was the highest that he'd ever seen, and he had the uneviable task of eliminating the many excellent entries in both the "GB" and "World" categories, to produce a short list of 16 or so in each category for the audience to vote on.

Ian Newton had the winning entry in the "GB" category, with his beautiful portrait of a Snow Bunting in the snow, as well as hitting the No. 3 spot with a Waxwing, with a berry caught in mid-air between its beak. Terry Weston's portrayal of three Tree Sparrows, all looking in the same direction, was widely admired, and was voted No. 2 in the "GB" category.

In the "World" category, John Barker's stunning image of a Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, with the rapid wingbeat frozen by the camera's action, won him the cup for the No. 1 position. Mark Coates' colourful image of a Rainbow Lorikeet was voted No. 2, whilst Ian Newton's atmospheric shot of a Harlequin Duck secured the No. 3 position.

Mark Coates might have failed to score a win in either category, but his photo of a Pheasant at Fairburn Ings proved to be Paul Doherty's favourite shot and landed Mark with the "Judges Choice" cup.

It's a pity that we don't have the space to show any of the "also-rans" here, because there were many beautiful images shown at the December 2011 Photo Competition.

Click on the link below the small images to see a slide show of all the photos in a larger format. There, you'll be able to appreciate some of the quality of the winning photos - although the true quality can never be seen on a website!

GB Winner Snow Bunting - Ian Newton	GB No. 2 Tree Sparrows - Terry Weston	GB No. 3 Waxwing - Ian Newton
World Winner Rufous-tailed Hummingbird - John Barker	World No. 2 Rainbow Lorikeet - Mark Coates	World No.3 Harlequin Duck - Ian Newton
	Judge's Choice Pheasant - Mark Coates

Previous Photo Competitions:

2010 - Click Here

2009 - Click Here

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