News

Richard Nicoll's image of a Brown Hare running in the snow with all four paws off the ground has been awarded an SPF Gold Medal at the 91st Scottish International Salon of Photography.



In addition Richard's image of a Cuckoo flying amongst the reeds at Wicken Fen gained an Honourable Mention.

Richard Nicoll's image of a male Common Cuckoo flying with a caterpillar in its beak has been Highly Commended at the East Anglian Federation (EAF) Annual Exhibition 2014.

BBC Nature have published Richard Nicoll's image of a Coot running on water just after sunrise at Wicken Fen. It was also their picture of the day. You can find the image here.

Richard Nicoll's image of a male Cuckoo flying amongst the reeds at Wicken Fen has been awarded a Southampton Camera Club Certificate at the Southampton International Exhibition 2014.

The Royal Photographic Society's Nature Group Iris magazine has published an article by Richard Nicoll called "Cheating Nature?: An investigation into suspect images in an international exhibition". This article exposes some images which appear to not follow the rules of Nature Sections in International Exhibitions. You can find the article here.

This article was written several months ago and further investigations suggest that this form of rule breaking is not isolated. The investigation has broadened and now involves the FIAP, PSA and RPS. Several authors have had their work disqualified from major UK internationals. It also appears that this issue is not isolated to nature sections but may also include travel sections where there are similar rules for those exhibitions run under PSA rules. A follow up article will be published sometime in the coming months.

Richard Nicoll's image of a Highland Cow with its breath condensing in the cold evening air has been Commended at the Basingstoke Camera Club National Open Photography Exhibition 2014.

Richard has had two images Highly Commended at the Royal Photographic Society Annual Exhibition. One is an image of a male Cuckoo flying amongst the reeds at Wicken Fen:



The other is of a male Cuckoo with a caterpillar in its beak:

Richard will be giving a talk to Sutton Photographic Group titled "You should join a Camera Club..." on the 6th February 2014. The talk takes the audience on a photographic journey from the beginnings of Richard's passion for photographing wildlife, stopping off to explore some of the tools and techniques used and ending with an investigation of images entered into international exhibitions.

Richard will be giving a talk to the University of the 3rd Age's Ely Bird Watching group titled "I never see anything at Wicken Fen..." on the 20th January 2014. The talk invites the audience to go on a tour of the nature reserve's different habitats through the seasons to view some of the bird life that Richard has photographed there over the past 3 years.

Richard Nicoll's image of a Green Sandpiper landing at Wicken Fen has been published as an illustration for day 11 of their pictures illustrating the 12 Days of Christmas. The BBC commented: "It is no surprise that we did not have any images of 11 pipers piping, however we did find this spectacular shot of a green sandpiper by Richard Nicoll."

Richard Nicoll's image of a Highland cow with has been chosen by the BBC Winterwatch team as one of their Photos of the week.

Richard Nicoll's image of a male Cuckoo flying amongst the reeds at Wicken Fen has been awarded the PAGB Gold Medal at the 36th Solihull Open Exhibition of British Photography 2013.



In addition an image of a Reed Warbler feeding its chicks was Commended.

The National Trust at Wicken Fen have published some of Richard Nicoll's Hen Harrier images on the new poster to highlight this species and its association with the Fen. Hen Harrier's use Sedge Fen as a place to roost during the late autumn/winter months and can be seen in the early morning before sun rise or the late afternoon after sunset coming in to roost.

Richard Nicoll's image of a male Cuckoo flying amongst the reeds at Wicken Fen has been Highly Commended at the 39th Smethwick International Exhibition 2013.

Richard Nicoll's images of some of the bird life at Wicken Fen, including some of the rarer species such as Great Egret and Bearded Reedling, have been published by the National Trust in the November 2013 issue of "News from the Fen".

Richard Nicoll's image of a Reed Warbler feeding its Chicks has been voted by the 1200 members of the public attending the Cambridge Camera Club Annual Exhibition as their 2nd favourite photograph. Thanks to everyone who visited the exhibition and voted for this.

Richard Nicoll has had a short article describing his experiences photographing Hobbies at Wicken Fen in the Royal Photographic Society's Nature Group Iris Magazine. You can find the text of the article here.

Richard Nicoll's images of a Hobby about to catch a Mayfly and a Reed Warbler feeding its chicks have both been Highly Commended at the 43rd Havant National Open Exhibition 2013.

Richard Nicoll's image of a Cuckoo flying amongst the reeds at Wicken Fen has been chosen by the Mayor of Cambridge, Cllr George Pippas, as his favourite image at the opening of the Camera Club Annual Exhibition currently on at the Guildhall in Cambridge.

Richard Nicoll's image of a male Teal taking off has been chosen by the BBC Summer of Wildlife team as one of their Photos of the week.