{"id":544069,"date":"2026-07-11T07:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T07:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/544069\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T07:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T07:13:17","slug":"in-pictures-biodiversity-photographer-of-the-year-winners-2026-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/544069\/","title":{"rendered":"In pictures: Biodiversity Photographer of the Year winners 2026 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Urban, rural and ocean wildlife, capturing incredible behaviours and relationships, are showcased by this year\u2019s Biodiversity Photographer of the Year competition winners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">There was a high level of skill on display from more than 300 photographers who entered, as well as a wide range of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/biodiversity\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/biodiversity\/\">animals, plants and habitats<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">To see these prints in person visit the Sonairte Eco-Centre in Laytown, Co <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/meath\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/meath\/\">Meath<\/a> from 2pm on Saturday July 11th until August 31st.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The final shortlist was presented by Irish Environmental Network.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Top Water Dog by Chris Martin which came in second place this year. The judges said 'a fabulous image of chasing otters on the bank of the River Lee in Cork City - again, a wonderful image of these powerful creatures, crisp detail showing the power and beauty of these elusive river \/ estuary dwellers as they protect their patch'.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/BLY5E7UMVBGXDHHB5WPSW2UMWE.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Top Water Dog by Chris Martin which came in second place this year. The judges said &#8216;a fabulous image of chasing otters on the bank of the River Lee in Cork City &#8211; again, a wonderful image of these powerful creatures, crisp detail showing the power and beauty of these elusive river \/ estuary dwellers as they protect their patch&#8217;. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"The Kiss by Mich Elliot which came in third place. The judges said 'an endearing image of the often-maligned pigeon, visually strong, detail in the eyes and colour detail throughout fabulous an image that really draws the viewer in. A pigeon kiss also called &#x2018;Billing&#x2019; happens as pigeons are pairing up during the mating season'.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MV6CAB5XR5D7HIJNQFUIGKEKQI.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"565\"\/>The Kiss by Mich Elliot which came in third place. The judges said &#8216;an endearing image of the often-maligned pigeon, visually strong, detail in the eyes and colour detail throughout fabulous an image that really draws the viewer in. A pigeon kiss also called \u2018Billing\u2019 happens as pigeons are pairing up during the mating season&#8217;. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Life on the Ledge by Ivan Donoghue which won the Ocean category in this years Biodiversity Photographer of the Year competition. The judges said 'this photo clearly stood out for the thought and care that went into framing this scene in the underwater world'.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/VDV4R4UOMFFRDEWP2MOVNIWJFM.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Life on the Ledge by Ivan Donoghue which won the Ocean category in this years Biodiversity Photographer of the Year competition. The judges said &#8216;this photo clearly stood out for the thought and care that went into framing this scene in the underwater world&#8217;. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Sea Hare by Andre Astraharchik, a highly commended image in the Ocean category.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MIZAIVRFLVGP5DLK55OOVXYWB4.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"600\"\/>Sea Hare by Andre Astraharchik, a highly commended image in the Ocean category. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Starlings fighting, Cobh, Cork by Pawel Curylo, one of the highly commended entries.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/XLLDMTHVBBCVLIOOUCG7AJYR6M.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"600\"\/>Starlings fighting, Cobh, Cork by Pawel Curylo, one of the highly commended entries. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Crab Spider by Celine Nic Oireachtaigh.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5DBFLYSJ2RAMJP7HMLXXCYCYKA.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Crab Spider by Celine Nic Oireachtaigh. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Female Mason bee returning with full basket of pollen by Phil Greaves, one of the highly commended entries.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/LCNH5XELUZDQRMQVN27CITPGPA.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"571\"\/>Female Mason bee returning with full basket of pollen by Phil Greaves, one of the highly commended entries. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Hooded Crow by Martin McNamara was also one of the high commended entries.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/M35VTC4XMNH2DKXJHSRJOJ5SOY.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"588\"\/>Hooded Crow by Martin McNamara was also one of the high commended entries. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Juvenile Fish Blue Jellyfish, Kerry by John Collins, one of the entries in the Ocean category.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6FKMVTELSNA3HIYZ7BSITABKUY.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Juvenile Fish Blue Jellyfish, Kerry by John Collins, one of the entries in the Ocean category. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Night Garden by Sinead Keys, one of the entries in the Ocean category.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/BXSFSVYRQFFYRJKIOLU64JS2N4.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"600\"\/>Night Garden by Sinead Keys, one of the entries in the Ocean category. <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Bubble Nudibranch, by Annegret Pfuetzner was highly commended for showcasing the detail of the fragile and wonderful life supported by one of Ireland's most valuable ecosystems - Seagrass.\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ECET4EMDZJGBHM2EM5JJ6BZHSU.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/>Bubble Nudibranch, by Annegret Pfuetzner was highly commended for showcasing the detail of the fragile and wonderful life supported by one of Ireland&#8217;s most valuable ecosystems &#8211; Seagrass. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Urban, rural and ocean wildlife, capturing incredible behaviours and relationships, are showcased by this year\u2019s Biodiversity Photographer of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,851,308,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-544069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-biodiversity","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}