Picture of stunning swoop wins national photography prize

Mario Cea who took the winning image in the National History Museum's wildlife photography competition. Pic: SWNS

It took five months of patience and an exhausting 5,000 attempts but for Spanish photographer Mario Cea, the perseverance has been worth it.

His shot of one of Europe’s most striking resident birds, captures the moment when a swooping kingfisher pierced the surface of a pond at speed in the hunt for fish. Capturing the flawlessly straight dive in such a natural way is considered to be a rare accomplishment in wildlife photography.

Shot on the outskirts of Salamanca in north-western Spain and entitled ‘The Blue Trail’, it has been picked by the public to win the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.

It was one of 25 images shortlisted for the award and was among 50,000 entries from 95 countries.

Winning photograph,The Blue Trail. Pic: SWNS

Mr Cea said: “The incredible speed of the bird means the movement is almost invisible to the human eye, so I had to use lighting to both illuminate the image and freeze movement.

“I think one of the reasons people like this image is the palpable trail of light the bird leaves behind.”