Are you inspired by the charismatic and colourful dragonfly? We are seeking to highlight the diversity of our UK dragonfly and damselfly species. Amateur or professional, we would love to receive your best dragonfly photograph.
The theme is open to your personal interpretation but we’re looking for beautiful photographs that show dragonflies and damselflies in the UK. All photos will be considered using cameras, mobile phones or devices and should be of a species that occurs in Britain naturally. Aim for a ‘natural’ shot avoiding filtering and editing. Remember to adopt wildlife best practice, by taking your photos responsibly and always follow the Countryside Code.
The photography competition will be judged by a panel of BDS staff, Trustees and Youth Panel members.
The 12 best photos will be used in a calendar with the winning photo featuring as the cover illustration. The winning photographer will also receive a cash prize of £100, be featured in our Dragonfly News member’s magazine, celebrated at our AGM, website and social media channels. The calendar will be sold to raise funds for the Society and a free copy will be sent to all photographers featured.
How to enter:
Send one image per entrant by email to . The file size should not exceed 10MB and preferably landscape orientation
With your email please send your full name, species photographed (if known) and location in which the photograph was taken.
Please see the full Terms and Conditions below for entry specification.
Closing date: 23:59 BST Saturday 31 August 2024.
Terms & Conditions
The competition is open to UK residents only (including residents of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man). Employees of the British Dragonfly Society, as well as their immediate families are not eligible to enter.
Entrants under the age of 18 need the verifiable consent of a parent or guardian to enter. Please see full terms and conditions for how to enter.
Full terms and conditions can be found below.
British Dragonfly Society Terms & Conditions: Photography Competition 2024.
The Jury’s decision as to the eligibility of individual photographs will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
To Enter: Send in one photo per entrant of a photo taken in the UK of a dragonfly in JPEG format. Photos should be ‘natural’ and not filtered or edited to enhance original image. You can crop the image to improve composition. The judges reserve the right to exclude any image they believe may have been excessively treated so as to alter its authenticity.
Entries should be sent by email to:
This prize draw is open to residents of the UK (including under 18’s*), excluding employees of the Promoter, their families, agents and all those professionally associated with this Competition. *Entrants under the age of 18 need the verifiable consent of a parent or guardian to enter via email to include the parent/guardian details. Including the under 18’s age is optional.
Promotion Period: Entry opens at 9:00am BST on Friday 12th July. The competition closes at 23:59 BST on Saturday 31st August 2024.
Best practice: It is the entrants responsibility to ensure the dragonfly’s welfare while photographing. No dragonflies should be disturbed, netted or contained unnecessarily. Please adopt wildlife photography best practice. Please take your photos responsibly and always follow the Countryside Code. You can find more information here.
Entrants received throughout the duration of the photography competition may be used on the British Dragonfly Society’s social media accounts to highlight the competition and raise awareness.
The competition is open to UK residents only (including residents of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man).
All entries must be received by the end of the Competition Period to be valid and no liability is accepted for illegible, incomplete or late entries.
Only one entry per person is permitted via email. Entries on behalf of another person will not be accepted and joint submissions are not allowed.
The Prize: The winner will receive a cash prize of £100.
Winner Selection: The winner will be chosen by a jury of BDS staff, Trustees and Youth Panel members.
All photographs will be judged on the following criteria:
Composition
Technical ability
Originality
Public appeal
Winner notification: The winner will be notified via email within 16 working days after the Competition closing date and will be required to respond to confirm eligibility plus acceptance of the prize within 14 days of initial contact (1st day of initial contact counts as day one). Those not contactable via reasonable means within this time frame (by the 15th day) will be disqualified and an alternative winning entrant will be awarded the prize on the same basis as described above. The winner will be asked for their preferred delivery address, for the sole purpose of sending them the prize. We reserve the right to substitute the prize with another prize of equal or greater value.
We have organised this Competition in good faith but cannot accept any liability relating to the cash prize draw or the prize offered.
The British Dragonfly Society reserves the right at its sole discretion to eliminate or disqualify any entries or entrants that it regards as being in breach of these conditions or the spirit of the Competition.
The British Dragonfly Society accepts no responsibility for system errors or other issues that may result in disruption to lost or delayed winner notifications.
Your personal data will be treated in confidence and will not be disclosed to any third parties for their marketing purposes without your prior consent and will comply with GDPR.
All entries must be made by the entrant themselves if they are over 18. Bulk entries made from trade, consumer groups or third parties will not be accepted.
All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. The entrants must be the sole owner of copyright in all photographs entered. Further, entrants must not have breached any laws when taking their photographs.
Entrants will retain copyright in the photographs that they submit to the British Dragonfly Society. By entering the competition all entrants grant to the British Dragonfly Society the right to publish and exhibit their photographs on television, social media, marketing material and website in perpetuity.
By entering this Competition, you agree to British Dragonfly Society using your personal details to process your entry to the Competition. All entry instructions form part of these terms and conditions. By entering this promotion, all participants will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by them.
These terms and conditions are governed by the law of England and Wales and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
The British Dragonfly Society reserves the right to cancel this competition or alter any of the rules at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, and if circumstances arise outside of its control.
The Promoter of this Competition is British Dragonfly Society.