Blog: photo competition ignites my childhood wonder for the natural world

BIAZA’s Andrew Hall reflects on the success of BIAZA’s 2026 Photography Competition and how it speaks to a lifetime of love for nature… 

The talent on show at this year’s BIAZA Photography Competition is nothing short of remarkable. The way Thomas Harris caught something of the stately resilience of an elephant in the rain, or how a crab can become an abstract shape nestled among anemone in Ellie Richard’s photo. The 2026 competition attracted over 800 submissions, and I know the judges had a lot of fun (and a tough time) whitling these down to the winners and runners up. But I think these photos have such resonance because they speak to our love and connection with the natural world.  

Like so many of us I had an obsession with animals as a child, invariably I was observing hovering kestrels above the motorway on family car rides or begging my parents to take me to a zoo, safari park or aquarium (mostly the begging was not successful). As someone fortunate to see how visitors faces light up seeing a giraffe, I think for most of us that childhood wonder never disappears or perhaps itfor some of us it is hiding within, living in place below the surface of our adult lives and waiting for that moment of awe to arrive.  

Each photograph is a snapshot of our relationship with the natural world – how shape, colour, movement or behaviour can bewitch and fascinate us. The hundreds of entries shows how we are interested in range and diversity – from tiny mushrooms to mighty elephants, from the strikingly coloured to expertly camouflage, and I think we love to see faces whether that is expressions on our nearest relatives among great apes, or even the hidden faces of zookeepers diligently undertaking their duties. 

I hope that good zoos and aquariums are where our fascination can be harnessed for good, or perhaps our fascination might be challenged and channelled. BIAZA members do this day in and day out, whether that is simply converting visitor income into conservation action or encouraging those same visitors to go beyond looking and towards understanding the species with which we share our planet.  

Soon, generous sponsorship from Mazuri will mean we will be able to start selling calendars featuring all of this year’s winners and runners up in the competition. The calendar will be going up in zoo and aquarium offices all across the UK and Ireland. For me, looking up will be a daily reminder of the child-like wonder within us all.  

By Andy Hall, BIAZA Communications and Public Affairs Manager

Preorder the limited-print BIAZA 2027 Calendar.