Each year a judging panel from Kent Wildlife Trust scrutinise hundreds of submissions from wildlife enthusiasts across the county in categories including birds, animals, insects, and landscapes.

The overall winner this year was a captivating image of two adders taken by Matt Smith on the Trust’s very own nature reserve Queendown Warren. The image, named “Snakes and Adders” shows a male and female adder intertwined on a woodland floor.

Kent Wildlife Trust’s Tim Horton, who was part of the judging panel that selected the image as the overall winner said: “We were bowled over by both the number and quality in this year’s competition and it was challenging to choose an outright winner as every image had special qualities.

“Snakes and Adders' was an instant favourite across the judging panel; we were not only impressed by the gorgeous exposure, complementing colours, and precise aperture control, but we also greatly appreciated the deviation in subject choice.

“Unfortunately, Britain's native reptiles are often overlooked, including when it comes to wildlife photography. The difference in subject choice helped Matt's submission stand out. Congratulations to Matt as our winner; we suspect that a lot of planning, patience, and stillness was required to capture such a notoriously elusive animal. His efforts definitely paid off!”

Winning photographer Matt Smith described the being chosen as overall best in the competition as “unbelievable”: “This image was taken at a beautiful Kent Wildlife Trust reserve that's local to me, Queendown Warren.

“This was the first time I had managed to photograph two adders at once, a male and a female. I found the adders basking in the sun, about a metre off the ground, on some bramble vegetation. I carefully got into position, gaining a good vantage point downwind to take some images.

“I’ve been fortunate to find a number of these snakes over the past few years and got to recognise a few characters in the process!

“To be declared as the overall winner, as the 2023 Kent Wildlife Trust's Photographer of the Year, is simply unbelievable. Especially when you see all the other stunning photos submitted by entrants.”

Kent Wildlife Trust runs the competition yearly and it is open for anyone to enter, this year photographers had a choice of eight categories, plants, insects, birds, landscapes, animals, marine, people in nature and kids.

Runner up to Matt in the animal category was Greg Bessent’s image of a beaver named “Sunset Bathing.” Populations of beavers are doing well in Kent, they are eco-system engineers, improving water quality and helping to prevent flooding through their natural behaviours.

The bird category was hotly contested with Corrine Pardey expertly capturing a captivating image of a kingfisher.

New to the competition this year was a category for children, the judges remarked how reassuring it was to see so many entries flooding in from young people with a passion for nature. The category was won by Riley Shickle with a beautiful photo of a sunset over the sea named “Drop in the Ocean.”

Those interested in entering next year can find out more information on Kent Wildlife Trust’s website, the competition is free to enter and is aimed at being diverse and accessible with photos of urban wildlife encouraged.  Entrants do not need expensive cameras or software and images can be captured on smart phones or tablets.