{"id":880400,"date":"2026-09-05T02:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/880400\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T02:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:16:15","slug":"17-year-old-photographer-captures-once-in-a-lifetime-shot-of-falcon-chasing-a-dragonfly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/880400\/","title":{"rendered":"17-Year-Old Photographer Captures &#8216;Once-in-a-Lifetime&#8217; Shot of Falcon Chasing a Dragonfly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>      <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/June-Lopham-Fen-Hobby-chasing-a-dragonfly-17-Maksym-Breus-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A hobby falcon with wings spread wide flies low over water, reaching out with its talons toward a small dragonfly.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-large wp-image-872298\"   loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>Teenage photographer Maksym Breus spent hundreds of hours observing before he was finally able to capture his dream shot. <\/p>\n<p>A 17-year-old photographer has beaten 1,200 other entries to win a U.K. photography competition for his superb shot of a small falcon chasing a dragonfly. <\/p>\n<p>Maksym Breus was forced to wait three years for his dream shot of the hobby, as the small falcon is known. He spent 200 hours observing the bird\u2019s behavior before finally nailing the shot that shows the hobby with its claws out, dancing on the surface of the water at Redgrave and Lopham Fen in Norfolk, England. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor three years I\u2019ve attempted to capture a legendary shot of a hobby chasing a dragonfly,\u201d Breus says in a press release. \u201cAfter more than 200 hours spent observing, the delight of achieving my dream shot was absolutely indescribable!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, wildlife photography was never just about showing an animal; I want to show people the behaviour, story, and fleeting moments that make each encounter special,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/August-University-of-East-Anglia-Curious-young-little-owl-60-Steph-Bornemann-800x536.jpg\" alt=\"A small owl with large, bright yellow eyes perches on a textured tree branch, looking directly at the camera amidst green leaves.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" class=\"size-large wp-image-872296\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Curious juvenile little owl. | Photo by Steph Bornemann <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/March-Redgrave-fen-Common-toad-basking-on-a-rock-27-Alice-Redgrave-800x566.jpg\" alt=\"A common toad with textured, olive-green skin and a bright orange eye rests on a cluster of grey and pink stones.\" width=\"800\" height=\"566\" class=\"size-large wp-image-872299\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Common toad basking on a rock. | Photo by Alice Redgrave<br \/>\n <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/October-West-Runton-Snow-bunting-feeding-on-dandelions-50-Vinnie-Purdy-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A snow bunting stands in a grassy field, pecking at the seeds of a dandelion.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-large wp-image-872301\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>A snow bunting feeding on dandelions. | Photo by West Runton <\/p>\n<p>The competition was held by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) and the teenager was crowned overall winner of its 2026 Nature Photography Competition. Of the hundreds of other photographers, only 12 winners were picked to be included in the wildlife trust\u2019s 2027 calendar. <\/p>\n<p>Judges also selected a Young Person and Mobile Phone photography winner, with a \u201cbrilliant array of photographers to choose from this year.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>16-year-old Tia Pardon won the Young Person prize for her photograph of a little egret backlit by the sun at NWT Hickling Broad. Winning the Mobile Phone prize was Clifford Wicker for his photograph of a banded demoiselle damselfly at Ingoldisthorpe Water Recycling Centre.<\/p>\n<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Mobile-phone-Ingoldisthorpe-Female-demoiselle-damselfly-67-Clifford-Wicker-1-600x800.jpeg\" alt=\"A metallic green damselfly with translucent wings rests on a thin wire against a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds.\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-large wp-image-872300\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Winner of the Mobile Phone category. | Photo by Clifford Wicker <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Young-Person-winner-little-egret-with-a-glow-16-tia-pardon-No-800x533.jpeg\" alt=\"A white egret with long, wispy breeding plumage stands perched on a dark branch against a black background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" class=\"size-large wp-image-872302\"   loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"low\" decoding=\"async\"\/>Winner of the Young Person category. | Photo by Tia Pardon <\/p>\n<p>The overall winner will be awarded a prize donated by competition sponsor ZEISS, with the Young Person and Mobile Photography winners receiving gift vouchers. <\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk\/events\/2026-10-01-nature-photography-competition-2026-exhibition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"follow external noopener nofollow\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">free exhibition<\/a> of the winners and highly commended images will be held at NWT Cley Marshes throughout October.<\/p>\n<p>The calendar is available to purchase online or at Norfolk Wildlife Trust visitor centers from late September. <\/p>\n<p> Affiliate Disclosure PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; we may earn a commission if you buy through one. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teenage photographer Maksym Breus spent hundreds of hours observing before he was finally able to capture his dream&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":880401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-880400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}