Last chance to see wonders of nature Wildlife Photographer of the Year show comes to a close

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition brought award-winning and highly commended images from the world’s most prestigious nature photography competition to the heart of the West Midlands - but now it is in its final weeks.

Last year’s contest attracted more than 60,000 entries from 113 countries and territories.

Among the featured photographers is 10-year-old Jamie Smart from Powys, winner of the youngest category in Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Her image, The Weaver’s Lair, captures a tiny spider nestled inside a freshly woven web among frosted leaves. Smart hopes her work will help change attitudes toward misunderstood species. “If people see how amazing wildlife is,” she says, “maybe they’ll want to protect it.”

Italian-born photographer Fortunato Gatto’s The Frozen Swan reveals a swan-shaped illusion in a fragment of ice near a glacier in Iceland. Now based in western Scotland, Gatto says his work is about finding moments of connection and calm in nature.

Gatto said: "What you’re looking at is a frozen puddle. It was a peculiar winter: despite the cold, the weather had been unusually dry.

"Depending on the conditions in which it forms, ice can assume an extraordinary variety of shapes. Through a small fragment of ice, the Frozen Swan revealed itself, a fleeting manifestation of natural artistry.

"I don’t look for spectacular pictures; I search for a connection with nature,” says Gatto, who relocated from Milan to western Scotland to follow his passion for wild landscapes.

"The principle of ‘Memento Amoris’ - remember to love – guides everything I do. I am an observer, but also part of what I observe. Through personal experiences, such as my father’s journey with Alzheimer’s, I’ve learned how even a few seconds of beauty and peace can be deeply meaningful."

Climate change is a recurring theme. Bertie Gregory’s highly commended image Ice Edge Journey shows emperor penguin chicks preparing to leap from an ice cliff into the Antarctic Ocean — a journey becoming increasingly dangerous as ice melts. “It’s my duty to show not just the animals, but the challenges they face,” Gregory says.

Other powerful stories include Amy Jones’s portrait of Salamas, a tiger rescued from a breeding farm in Thailand, and Kutub Uddin’s intricate close-ups of fungi and slime moulds, revealing beauty in life forms often overlooked.

Kutub Uddin specialises in captivating close-ups of fungi and most recently, 1-2mm long slime moulds. He describes searching for his subjects as like “hunting for treasure in the forest."

He added: "You never know which species you’re going to discover next. Macro photography is a powerful way to show the world just how beautiful tiny forms of life can be. 

"Most of the time we walk straight past without realising they’re there… Through my photography, I hope to encourage people to slow down and appreciate the hidden complexity of the natural world”.

Describing the significance of the Wildlife Photographer competition, Jones says: "Many environmental issues remain distant or abstract. We need breath-taking images of nature to inspire people to care; at the same time, we need harrowing images that uncover the harm animals face at human hands. 

"Wildlife Photographer of the Year brings these perspectives together, reaching millions of people beyond traditional advocacy audiences”.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is open until Wolverhampton Museum & Art Gallery until January 25. 

Ticket prices: Adults £8, concessions £4, under-21s free, Art Fund pass holders £4, Friends of the gallery £4 (booking fees may apply). Visit the website to book now.