Ten Questions: Richard Shucksmith, winner of this year's British Wildlife Photography Award

This year's winning image at the recent British Wildlife Photography Awards was captured by Richard Shucksmith. The stunning image was taken at Sula Sgeir (meaning Gannet Rock), a small uninhabited island, 41 miles north of Lewis in the Scottish Hebbridean Islands.

The inhospitable area is home to an astounding variety of marine life, but the remoteness, and the challenge that comes with visiting them, makes his photo all the more special.

Blipfoto caught up with Richard Shucksmith for "Ten Questions" to find out more about him and his photography.

For your chance to win a copy of the fantastic coffee table book of all the BWPA winning work, visit the Nature and Wildlife Group on Blip for more details. To win all you need to do is photograph an animal, bird or insect that you never have captured before and share it on Blip. Remember to tag the photo with BWPA.

Richard Shucksmith's 10 Questions:

1. How did you get into photography?

When I was a kid I used to go fishing all the time and loved being out by water. Any fish I caught I used to take pictures of, so learnt much of the basics of taking photographs when I was kid. I always carried a camera with me wherever I went but it was while studying marine biology and ecology that I started taking images more seriously. Since then it has just grown and grown and I love the challenge of making images and the constant development of ideas to try to produce something different.

Most people talk about photographers that have inspired them and I do admire other peoples images but it's not other photographers that inspire me to take pictures it's the different environments, wild places , coastal areas and the animal and plants that live there that really get me going.

Early morning is one of my favourite times when most people are asleep but outside of the warm cosy house a whole world is waking up. It's a quiet time from manmade noise and the sounds of the natural world dominate the soundscape. Beautiful light falls across the land and the sense of wilderness and isolation is excitingly overpowering.

2. What equipment do you have to use for underwater shots like this?

You either buy a camera which can be taken underwater like some of the compact cameras that are available today or you have to put your camera in water proof housing. In the jellyfish picture I used two underwater flash guns Inon Z240 connected to an Ikelite underwater housing that housed my Nikon D300 and a Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens. The flashes are used to light the subject matter, in this case the jellyfish. I exposed the image for the blue sea then used the flash to bring out the colours in the jellyfish.

Not to get technical but as you go under the water the water absorbs different wavelengths of light. By the time you get to 5m deep red light has almost been fully absorbed by the water and does not penetrate any deeper. So as an underwater photographer I need to add light to the subjects to bring out the colours and that's why we use underwater flashes/strobes.

In the jellyfish image I have set my camera settings to manual and set the shutter speed to 1/100th at F8 to expose for the blue background, ISO 200 and the Tokina lens at 14mm and used the strobes to light up the jellyfish and bring out the colours. The strobes were crucial in bringing out the magical colours of the jellyfish. The weather that day also helped, in Scotland the weather can be very changeable, one minute raining next minute the sun is shining. Fortunately on this occasion the sun was shinning, helping with the lighting of the water.

3. Where are you based?

I live on the beautiful and wild Shetland Isles. Over 2000km of coastline with a diverse range of marine habitats. One day in a sheltered voe watching otters and the next day on an exposed cliff watching orcas. There is so much to see and photograph around Shetland I never feel the need to travel elsewhere although I do love the west coast of Scotland too. I work in Shetland as a marine/terrestrial ecologist working closely with industry in reducing their ecological impact during their development stage. I have my own company and work short term contracts - I have chosen to work this way so I can spend more time undertaking my photography. It also allows me to live in places that I find inspirational. In other words, I live amongst the wildlife and wild landscapes that I love. Don't get me wrong, its sound great but this way of living is not for everyone as there is a lot of insecurity.

4. Are marine scientific advisor and photographer good bedfellows?

In some ways yes, but there are some very good photographers about who have no scientific background so obviously it's not essential. However, I am super inquisitive about ecology so when I'm photographing an animal I get very intrigued about their behaviour. This means I often do a lot of reading - particularly science papers about the behaviour and ecology of the animals I'm photographing, which does lead sometimes to taking pictures of certain behaviour other people may not capture.

5. As a marine scientific advisor, you must travel to a lot of exotic locations? Where are the best locations for wildlife photography that you have been?

Best locations for photography are often the local ones which you know extremely well and you can repeat visit to work on images.

Recently I spent 3 months diving a group of islands in a remote part of Indonesia called Raja Ampat. Raja Ampat has the highest marine biodiversity in all our oceans. Its remoteness as been its saviour but this is slowly changing. I spent three months doing 4 dives a day and repeat diving some sites and this just gave me so much opportunity to get some great shots. But there are great images everywhere - no matter where you are in the world the biggest limitation is our own imagination.

6. What tips would you give to other Wildlife photographers to capture the perfect shot?

Key ingredients are motivation and perseverance. To be honest I have yet to capture that perfect shot I think, as a photographer who criticises my own work, you never do. There is always something not quite right with the image so I keep striving to do better.

Another important point is to plan an image and then keep working at it till you succeed. Sometimes this can take some time for it to happen but if you keep to those words above you will get that shot in the end.

7. How much skill and patience is involved in getting the perfect shot?

Well, the skill comes in reading the situation and approaching your subject in the right way and the more time you're out there the more chance you stand of getting an image that you will be pleased with.

8. And how much luck?

Luck always plays its part. However, you make your own luck by being persistent and motivated and by keep on going, all the time looking and reading situations. Nose to the ground, working hard, it's like all things you do - you get out of it what you put in.

Luck only plays a small part, as you have to ask the question why do some photographers consistently do well?

9. So, just being in the right place at the right time doesn't really come into it?

Sometimes getting yourself into a good situation is just a lot of hard work. You just keep working at it, no matter how many times you go out there and fail - eventually it all comes together and you find yourself in the right place with the subject matter you want to work with. Then you have to make the most of it. It does depend what you?re doing and you can?t beat local knowledge. Getting to know your subject really does matter.

Most photographers just want to go out there and take pictures however if you want to get something a little special then you need to spend time getting to know your subject.

I have been doing a lot of work on otters over the last 18 months and I spent the first 6 months hardly taking any pictures but walking coastlines and observing and getting to know the otters. Now that hard work and sacrifice has paid off and I can just go for a couple of hours at the right time and find otters and stand a good chance of making a nice picture.

10. What are the dangers of marine photography? Have you ever found yourself in trouble in pursuit of a great photo?

There are no dangers in marine photography as long as you know what you're doing. Taking images underwater is all about your mental approach. I have undertaken thousands of dives so I never actually think about the process of diving - it's a bit like riding a bike.

However, Sula Sgeir is quite a challenging place to dive, with a lot of swell and a long way from help if any thing goes wrong.

Personally I have never been in trouble while pursuing a picture but I did get in trouble once while working as a commercial diver and was left by the boat I was diving off. But, as they say, that's another story.

More BWPA photos

And now, we share with you just small selection of some of the other stunning, winning and shortlisted work from this year's BWPAs.

Urban Wildlife Winner; David Biggs, Champagne Starling, Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury, Shropshire

Animal Behaviour Winner; Andrew Parkinson, Grey Heron Walking on Water, Derbyshire

Wildlife in my Backyard, Winner; Rana Dias, Busy Wasp on Blackberries, Surrey

Habitat Winner; Ian Paul Haskell, Hare in Morning Light with Hoar Frost, Norfolk

Animal Portraits Winner; Mark Smith, Mystical Mist, Richmond, Surrey

Animal Portraits Highly Commended; Ron Coulter, Golden Eagle, Nr Aviemore

Animal Portraits Highly Commended; Graham Eaton, Mute Swan, Llyn Padarn, Llanberis, Wales

Animal Portraits; Matt Binstead, Red Fox, Surrey

Animal Portraits; Jacky Parker, Mute Swan and Cygnet Sleeping, Abbotsbury Swannery, Dorset

Coast Highly Commended; Alexander Mustard, Grey Seal Beneath Cliffs, Lundy Island, Devon

An exhibition of 70 images from BWPA, launched at the very first WildlifeXpo, has now embarked on a year-long tour of the exhibition throughout England, Scotland and Wales. For details of the nationwide tour visit www.bwpawards.org

A fantastic coffee table book (I know it's fantastic, as I have it sitting in front of me) of all the winning work, alongside a selection of shortlisted entries, has also been launched. And we have a copy as a prize to give away. Visit the Nature and Wildlife Group Discussion board on Blip for more details.