Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2010: The winners

WINNER: Ron McCombe's winning image of a waxwing, entered into the wildlife category

March 2011: The results of the inaugural Scottish Nature Photography Awards Photographic Competition have been announced and the top place has been awarded to Ron McCombe, a professional photographer from Coldstream in Berwickshire.

ABSTRACT WINNER: Swirl by Phil McMenemy

Ron won the Scottish Wildlife category with his image featuring a waxwing before taking the overall winning title of Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2010.

Ron said: 'I'm delighted. I took the picture in Musselburgh, having heard on the grapevine that waxwings were in the area. I was waiting for a bright frosty day and when the forecast was right I set off very early in the morning.

'I drove around Musselburgh looking and listening and eventually found them in a sorbus tree. I stayed until I got the images I wanted, which was most of the day until the sun started to set and the temperature dropped.'

The competition, which was launched to showcase the photographic talent that is drawn to Scotland's landscape and natural heritage, attracted more than 1,000 entries from around the world.

LANDSCAPE WINNER: Brian Clark's Autumn Gold

Judging the images, all of which had to be taken in Scotland, were Neil McIntyre, a wildlife and landscape photographer, Lorne Gill, a photographer with Scottish Natural Heritage and Niall Irvine, a photography and digital imaging practitioner and one of the competition organisers.

Niall said: ‘With its amazing diversity of landscape and wildlife, Scotland is a key destination for nature photographers. This competition has really highlighted the excellence of the photography that is undertaken here. Against such a strong field, Ron's winning image encapsulated the exceptional quality, creativity and dedication that we were looking for.'

Winners of the other three categories were: 
Scottish Landscape: Brian D Clark with Autumn Gold
Natural Abstract: Phil McMenemy with Swirl
Environmental: Ray Liversidge with Aberdeen Breakwater Storm

Winning images to third place in each category will be featured in a touring exhibition around Scotland beginning in May. Winning and shortlisted images will also feature in a Portfolio Yearbook.

Niall Irvine said: ‘We will continue to build the Scottish Nature Photography Awards as a quality platform for nature photography in Scotland. Our 2011 Photographic Competition, which will see the addition of a botanical category, as well as student and junior categories, will be launched at the end of next month.'  

ENVIRONMENTAL WINNER: Ray Liversidge with Aberdeen Breakwater Storm