Wigan photographer wins coveted award with stunning image

Roy Rimmer, from Standish, was named the Mammal Photographer of the Year 2019 thanks to his image entitled Woodmouse Shut That Door.

It was a labour of love to capture the picture, but his hard work certainly paid off.

Mr Rimmer, who has been a snapper for more than two decades and runs workshops, said: “I baited the entrance of the shed door and placed one flash outside the entrance to replicate the moonlight and one flash inside the entrance which I diffused just enough in order to keep a rim light.

“I struggled for several nights to get the mice in the right place so I decided to smear chocolate near the bottom of the door. This encouraged the mice to stand for a while whilst it licked the bait giving me the opportunity to create the image.”

His photograph proved to be popular with the competition judges and he took the title, along with the top prize of a conservation holiday in Dorset. Judge and nature and conservation photographer Peter Cairns said : “This image stood out for me as soon as I set eyes on it.

“It’s great to see an under-represented species so creatively captured. The lighting is spot on and, perhaps more importantly, there’s a story delivered with a splash of humour.”

It is the second time the 64-year-old has won the competition and this time he was also highly commended in another category.

He said: “I’m over the moon. It is the second time I have won it - I won six years ago as well. What I try to do is do the more common subjects and make people more aware of them. The first one was a rat and this was a woodmouse, which we all have in our sheds.”

Mr Rimmer loves nature and says it can take weeks or even months to capture the perfect image.

“My photography is all about planning and preparation and the picture is a bonus,” he said.

The winning and highly commended pictures can be seen at the Mammal Photographer of the Year exhibition this weekend at the University of Glasgow, as part of the Mammal Society’s spring conference.