Amateur photographer Richard Steel scoops national award

Oct 2 2008 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

Puffin by Richard Steel _320

THIS stunning portrait of a puffin has landed a Wirral amateur a national wildlife photography award and his 15 minutes of fame.

Richard Steel, an environmental consultant from New Brighton, initially did not even want to send the picture into this year’s BBC Countryfile Photographic Competition.

The 40-year-old wanted to submit four photographs of brown hares, but was persuaded by his partner, Dawn, that he should throw in the puffin shot.

It was picked from thousands of entries by presenters John Craven, Jo Brand and Chris Packham as one of 12 photos to be included in the show’s calen-dar. It was followed by a phone vote to pick an overall winner.

Richard recalls: “They revealed the finalists and had a week of voting which ended on the Sun-day. I assumed someone else had won as I didn’t hear anything and there were some great entries. But then the BBC burst into my office one day with a framed print of the photo.”

Dawn, his parents, work colleagues and his secret-ary had collaborated on the surprise so when Countryfile presenter Miriam O’Reilly arrived he nearly fell off his seat – all of it broadcast on Sunday.

His winning shot, In-Flight Meal, was captured during a trip to the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumberland.

Richard said: “We were close to the cliff edge and it was quite misty so the puffin probably didn’t see it until the last second and then he had to slam the brakes on in a hurry – it might account for its slightly comical expression.”

Part of the success of the shot is getting so close to a normally isolated creature. For Richard, it is getting right up to the birds that really counts.

He said: “It’s about having that one to one moment with an ani-mal at close quarters. Even with long lenses, it’s important to get close without disturbing them and get a picture of its habits.

“Once you’ve taken a few shots, it’s about just watching them.”

ON OCCASION, he admits, it can get a bit hairy. On his trips to the Farne Islands, he now takes a hard hat.

“The Arctic Terns, which are beautiful – some people have even said they look like angels – but they don’t like company and attack. That’s great for pictures,” he said. “But I’ve seen some people without hats come away dripping with blood.”

His commitment to photogra-phy sees him disappear at lunch breaks and he regularly gets up at first light to get the best shots.

Fiancee Dawn said: “When he asks me if I want to go with him, I normally just turn over. I love nature but tend to like land-scapes – in the middle of the day.”

But her support and praise has helped Richard win two awards. It was Dawn and his secretary who sent entries to Countryfile and to the first competition he won – in the North Wales Daily Post, our sister paper, with a photo of a Redwing.

richarddown@dailypost.co.uk