Andy says:

"I am Andy Maher, I’m 52 years of age and a retail manager by trade, I live in a small village near Hayle with my wife Samantha and daughter Lucy. I took up photography as a hobby during the November lockdown of 2020, travel was limited so I was able to walk through local woodland and spend lots of time outdoors with my entry level first camera, photographing the local wildlife. I have always loved being outdoors and treasured the wildlife around us ever since I was child.

"After numerous hours of studying photography settings and gaining tips from YouTube and online, I gradually started to get more serious about my photography and wanted to showcase my work through competitions and my website www.andymaherphotography.com. Now in the short space of 3 years I have upgraded my camera kit and won 3 awards for my work and I hope to continue to produce stunning images for everyone to enjoy.

"To win the ‘People’s choice’ award in the Cornwall Wildlife Trust photography competition 2023 is a massive honour for myself and I want to thank everybody that voted for my image.

Andy continued:

“I took this photograph hand held. It was a bright, warm, but occasionally cloudy day when I decided to head out along the coast path between Prussia cove and Porthleven. I parked my car at Prussia Cove, gathered my camera gear and accompanied by my daughter Lucy, took the walk along the coast path with the hope of photographing Kestrels this particular day.

“I decided to stop on the path just above Kenneggy Cove beach where I had seen a couple of Kestrels hovering above the cliff. I set up my tripod, attached the camera to the gimbal head and positioned myself ready for a photo opportunity. Having spotted at least 5 Kestrels that day, I still didn’t manage the shot I wanted, particularly one in flight. After about 3 hours of trying to get the shot I was after, I decided to pack up my kit and head back to the car. After detaching the camera from the tripod, I was ready to put it away into its bag when I noticed a Kestrel hovering, maybe about 50 feet away in front of me and the same distance above me. I picked up the camera and altered the exposure as I was going to shoot up into the sky, I pressed my back button focus and immediately locked focus on the hovering Kestrel ready for a shot.

“All of a sudden the Kestrel dropped from its position at speed, wings tucked in, and headed in my direction, a move known as ‘stoop’ mode,....keeping my thumb on the focus button and the Kestrel within my viewfinder (which was no easy task due to the speed the Kestrel was heading towards me) I kept my finger on the shutter button and reeled off a few frames of the bird of prey as it approached me, before landing on a branch just behind where I was stood.

“Due to the ever changing light I wasn’t quite able to see my images in the viewfinder, so I had to wait until I got home to see how sharp and in focus the images were...IF they were in focus. I headed back to the car along the coast path and drove home, where I reviewed the images once inside, I was quite taken aback at what I’d taken, but this particular image really stood out, the intensity of the Kestrel's face as it ‘stooped’ towards me was a ‘once in a lifetime’ shot I believe. I have never seen a Kestrel in this position before, and to be able to photograph one in this mode was just incredible."