As the Digital Splash Awards 2019 are now in full swing, the Wilki team have been finding out more about last year's winners. 

 

Scooping a well deserved (and very close) second place, was Richard Adams with his enchanting picture of a harvest mouse, enjoying a rain shower amongst the autumn blackberries. A difficult image to capture, and one, which got us all wondering ‘how did he do that?’

 

We spoke to Richard, to find out more about his photography and how he managed to capture that mysterious ‘rearing’ mouse!

 

Let’s get started with how did you get into photography?

I bought my first Camera approximately 4-5 years ago after deciding I needed a hobby/distraction to help take control of my PTSD.

 

 

Your winning photograph - tell us a bit more about the story behind it and how you managed to capture such a great image. Those are some pretty good mouse stalking skills!

 

I was told of a nest/re-population program, so decided to get there before sunrise and set up my hide.  I was there around 6-8 hours and encountered every form of weather in that time.

 

The Harvest Mouse is a British born rodent that has near enough become extinct in the wild. Now there are small dedicated teams up and down the country breeding them to release once they reach a certain age.

 

Due to the Harvest Mouse being very small, the trick is to frame the image and then patiently wait for them to come into shot. I now believe that the mouse reared up because of my hearing aids whistling due to the damp air.

 

 

Is wildlife your main photographic interest?

I seem to have fallen into wildlife as it allows me to escaped from the daily grind. That said, I'm always up for trying any genre of photography.

 

What’s your dream photographic location/bucket list trip?

 

Now, that is a very easy question to answer!

 

I served 19 years of a 22 year contract in the RAF, but I was medically discharged after being diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome and Pelligrini Steida Syndrom, I was later diagnosed with PTSD from my Cat 6 repair work (recovering and repairing crashed aircrafts). I also have binaural hearing loss.

 

Some may find it surprising, but I would dearly love to return to the Falkland Islands.  Unfortunately I wasn’t interested in photography when I was posted there, but it has everything a photographer would want to shoot and I’d love to go back.

 

To put it simply, it’s such a beautiful, peaceful place (if you overlook the large airbase!). Wildlife comes up close to you without any sign of fear (though it is wise to give the Elephant Seals a wide berth!) and you soon forget the madness of the UK. These days, photography also helps to calm my mind as I sometimes get very anxious when I'm around people.

 

 

How did you hear about Digital Splash Awards?

 

It was an off-chance Facebook advert that took me to the Digital Splash Awards, I entered without any though of such an amazing result. Thank goodness I did!

 

 

Thank you Richard for your time and allowing us such a fascinating peak behind the scenes.

 

Find out more:

Richard has a huge collection of inspirational images that you can see by following Richard on Instagram @captured_moments_photographyuk!

 

Could you be next years Digital Splash Awards winner? Visit the Digital Splash Awards website to find more information and enter the monthly competitions!

 

All images featured Copyright Richard Adams Photography.