WHY AWARDS MATTER

WITH MORE THAN 80 INTERNATIONAL PRIZES, ANDY IS ONE OF EUROPE’S MOST AWARDED WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHERS…

You’ve won more awards than Meryl Streep! How important are they?

I like them. I will always defend them. They’ve been useful as a revenue stream, because the past few years I’ve probably got £7000 a year from competitions. I think they’re good for global exposure, too. I’m quite selective about which ones I enter, so I prefer Nature Photographer of the Year, Bird Photographer of the Year, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, European Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Given that I’ve entered Wildlife Photographer of the Year for 20 years, and I’ve been awarded four times, it shows how difficult it is to get into that competition. I like them and I’d encourage other people to enter them.