The 2026 Young Wild Photographer Competition is now open for entries

Our Young Wild Photographer competition is back this year! If you’re aged between 5 and 16 and have access to a smartphone or a camera, why not get out among nature and enter our wildlife photography competition?

Launched on Skydancer Day, 9^th May, and sponsored by Opticron, this is our third year of the competition.

Each year we have a theme for entrants to focus on. In 2025, the theme was “Capture the moment”, and you can see the winning entries here. This year, our theme is:

For this competition you don’t need to have fancy or expensive camera equipment! We will be more interested in the subject and composition, and welcome entries of all kinds from cameras and smartphones – the equipment used will be taken into account in the judging, so you won’t be at a disadvantage if you don’t have top of the range gear.

There are some great prizes on offer, and you’ll get the chance to have your pictures shown on our website and our social media channels.

The Theme: Colour of the Wild

Nature is full of magnificent colours, patterns and shapes. We are looking for original captured images that can best showcase nature’s infinite colour palette.

From bursts of wildflowers, endless hues of leafy-greens, or magnificent, rare blues in nature, we’d love to see your interpretation of this year’s theme in your pictures.

We’re also interested in the story behind your image, why you chose your particular animal, composition, or subject, how you took the photo, and what that aspect of wildlife might mean to you.

Entering the Young Wild Photographer Competition

Any young person between the ages of 5 and 16 on 1 May 2026 and resident in the UK can enter the competition. By entering the competition, you agree that Hen Harrier Action can publish your image on the website, in newsletters and on social media. We will always give you proper credits and you will otherwise retain ownership and copyright.

You can only enter a single image, and initially this should be no more than 800 pixels wide, and saved as a JPEG of no more than 5MB. Full size images will be requested from the short-listed entrants. Your shots must have been taken this year (2026). Images from previous years will not be accepted.

Images can be submitted from cameras or smartphones, and the technology used and the age of the entrant will be taken into consideration in the judging. The judge this year will be award-winning wildlife photographer Richard Birchett.

The competition is open for entries from Saturday 9th May 2026 and the final date for submissions is midnight on Sunday 26th July 2026. Judging will take place over 4 weeks and the winners will be announced on Saturday 8th August.

Age Categories

The competition will be open to young people from 5-16 years, with prizes awarded in each of 3 categories – Young (5-8 years), Junior (9-12 years) and Senior (13-16 years).

Entries from schools and classes will be welcome, and teachers can download a poster for the competition here.

About your judge: Award-winning wildlife photographer Richard Birchett

Richard Birchett is a published and award-winning wildlife photographer from Cornwall, having just moved back to the UK after several years in Canada. He has worked with BBC Wildlife Magazine, Springwatch, Countryfile and The Wildlife Trusts, and is the UK and Canada Ambassador for Nature First, an alliance promoting ethical wildlife photography.

A finalist in many prominent photography competitions, including the British Photography Awards (BPA), British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA) and Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY), among others.

The Prizes to be Won

Each category winner will receive a pair of Opticron Adventurer II 8×42 Binoculars! Each category will also have two runners up, who will receive a £20 book token. An overall winner from all categories will be selected, and this person will be able to get some personal tips from our judge, Richard Birchett.

Founded in the UK in 1970, Opticron is a family-owned business with fifty years’ experience in consumer optics, and a leading UK supplier of high-quality binoculars, field scopes, digiscoping equipment and accessories, providing wildlife watchers with the best mix of quality, choice, value and customer service. Offering a huge range of compact, lightweight and affordable equipment, with an innovative approach and a drive to deliver ‘smaller, lighter, brighter, sharper’ across every product in their range.

Opticron is delighted to be sponsoring the Young Wild Photographer competition again this year, and wishes the best of luck to all the entrants.

Full Rules of Entry

Age: you must be between 5 and 16 years of age on 1^st May 2026 to qualify for entry.
Entrants can interpret the theme of The Colour of the Wild in a broad sense but you should concentrate on habitats, wildlife, plant and insect life in the UK.
All images should be substantially the work of the entrant.
Initial submissions should be no larger than 800 pixels wide and no more than 5Mb, in JPEG format. Full size images will be requested when a short list has been created.
Entries can be submitted from cameras and smartphones, and account will be taken of the level of equipment used when judging.
All winning and commended entrants will be given publicity and a national platform on our website, newsletters and social media channels. The winner in each category will be awarded a prize of Adventurer II 8×42 binoculars worth £109 from Opticron, a leading supplier of photographic equipment. Two runners-up in each category will receive a £20 book voucher.

All entries must:

- Not be offensive, though it can be as hard-hitting as you wish it to be
- Be consistent with our values
- Use photos taken in wild, natural settings where possible (e.g. rather than a zoo or a farm)

By entering, you agree to be interviewed about your work if asked.
By submitting your entry, you grant permission for Hen Harrier Action to use it, including on our website, YouTube channel and other social media. We will always give proper credits and you will otherwise retain ownership and copyright.
Trustees and immediate family of Hen Harrier Action are ineligible.
Entries which in the opinion of the judges promote misinformation will be disqualified.
In preparing your entry, you must not:

- Break the law regarding disturbance of nesting birds
- Put rare birds at risk because of your actions or movements
- Make unsolicited approaches to leading figures
- Use live or dead animals as bait (except for mealworms as a standard bird food). See more here.

The opinion of the judges will be final. Unfortunately, we cannot undertake to give feedback.
By submitting your entry, it is understood that you have read and agreed to the rules of the competition.

You Could Enter the 2026 Young Wild Writers Competition too!

And if you enjoy creative writing more than photography, why not enter our Young Wild Writers Competition instead? Or you could enter both!

This year’s Young Wild Writers contest shares the same age categories as Young Wild Photographer, and there are Opticron binoculars to be won in each of the three categories – Young, Junior and Senior, plus £20 book vouchers for the runners-up.

The theme for the competition, announced by children’s author Gill Lewis on Skydancer Day, is – Our Shared Planet – for creative writing, up to 500 words.