Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year winner reveals prize picture was ‘comfortable accident’

The younger Welsh photographer, dubbed as Generation Alpha’s reply to David Attenborough, who received the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitors has revealed the successful shot was a contented accident.

Ten 12 months previous Jamie Smart recalled how she took the successful {photograph} early one autumn morning when she went into the household backyard within the countryside close to Llandrindod Wells.

“There were water droplets everywhere, and I thought it would be a really nice time to go out and capture some photos of animals,” says Jamie.

Spotting a blob of spider’s internet amongst lifeless dock leaves, she adopted it till she discovered a backyard spider, maybe half a centimetre lengthy, tucked up inside a hide-out which it weaves freshly every day.

Jamie used flash and a diffuser, “changing settings and angles and all sorts” to gentle up the spider in a wide ranging close-up shot.

Spiders are amongst Jamie’s favorite creatures to {photograph} and he or she is eager to dispel fears about them – “They don’t want to harm you! They’re just full of character and some are really cute – their hunting behaviours are incredible”.

She loves doing shut up macro images of bugs “because they have so much detail on them… It helps people look into this different world, a world we don’t fully understand yet”.

She has captured an enormous number of animals, from baboons to guinea pigs to fish, on her option to touchdown no less than 5 main awards this 12 months in youth sections and open grownup competitions, most not too long ago two classes on the RSPCA Young Photographer awards.

Competition success has opened up additional alternatives – corresponding to a visit Down Under to {photograph} animals on the wildlife hospital arrange by Steve Irvin, alongside the late conservationist’s son Robert.

A photograph taken at Bradgate Park, Leicestershire of a monarch stag bellowing to chase away a youthful rival was the fruit of two days’ working daybreak to nightfall with wildlife photographer Danny Green, a prize from the 2023 RSPCA Young Photographer awards.

Jamie discovered herself “running up and down the path to get the correct angle to try and catch the stag looking at me”. The picture received her a commendation at Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025.

Home-schooled Jamie’s love of wildlife grew from her “immense” early ardour for dinosaurs. She has been taking animal pictures since she was six and a half, supported by her dad James, a carpenter who used to take images as a interest however hadn’t picked up his digicam in years.

James is now attempting to grasp videography to movie Jamie for her social media, and to assist her perceive how the wildlife images trade works. “We’ve been learning together, we never stop,” he says.

Over the previous couple of years, James, Jamie and mum Eleri have let the backyard run wild, turning it right into a wildlife haven. “We don’t use pesticides,” James says. “Watching it, the natural balance has come back, you can see the ecosystem thriving”. Jamie suggests budding wildlife lovers who’ve a backyard can begin by placing out bee bins and bug accommodations.

She calls her residence space “a beautiful place in the sticks – there’s a lot of bugs around, you get to go through woodlands and see what’s there”. She enjoys the “whole different world” of nocturnal wildlife that emerges after nightfall – illustrating with a convincing owl impression.

With greater than 170,000 followers of her Eagle Eyed Girl @eagle_eyed_grl Instagram account, Jamie says her mission with images is “to show people how amazing wildlife is, to educate them about it and bring awareness. I hope that if I show them my passion for it, I’ll inspire them to have a passion too. And if they want to protect that species, maybe they want to protect other species”.

This 12 months’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitors attracted a record-breaking 60,000 entries from 113 nations.

Of different UK-based photographers within the exhibition, Kutub Uddin, who specialises in charming close-ups of fungi and slime mould, stated the competition is essential “as a result of it helps individuals join emotionally with nature. When individuals see the wonder, complexity and vulnerability of the pure world, it encourages respect and appreciation.

“That connection is often the first step towards thinking differently about sustainability… Everything in nature has value”.

Fortunato Gatto, who relocated from Milan to Scotland to comply with his ardour for unspoilt nature, stated: “We need strong institutions and visionary people to give credibility, support, and momentum to our dream of a better future. Through creativity and collective effort, we can inspire a more conscious relationship with the planet.”

Amy Jones, whose picture of an aged tigress used as a breeding machine on a tiger farm was Highly Commended within the Photojournalism class, stated: “Many environmental and animal points stay distant or summary for individuals.

“We need breathtaking images of nature to inspire people to care; at the same time, we need harrowing images that uncover the harm animals face at human hands. Wildlife Photographer of the Year brings both of these perspectives together on a global stage, reaching beyond traditional advocacy audiences”.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is on at Wolverhampton Museum & Art Gallery till January 25 2026 and at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery till April 26 2026