2021 CPoY finalist, Henley Spiers

Finalist Conservation Photographer of the Year

Henley Spiers Scotland

60°08'43.8"N 1°01'10.9"W

A dead gannet hangs from a piece of discarded fishing gear, used to build its nest. “In mating season, seabird colonies outnumber the human population of Shetland many times over,” says photographer Henley Spiers. “Northern gannets arrive in their thousands, with 25,000 nesting pairs turning the black cliffs on the Isle of Noss white. At times the enterprising birds will recycle discarded fishing gear to build nests, but this sometimes ends in tragedy with the gannets becoming fatally ensnared.”

BEHIND THE LENS

Henley Spiers United Kingdom (UK)

ABOUT THE IMAGE

Overcast
Mid-morning
Slight wind
12 degrees Celsius

Henley Spiers, half British and half French, is a renowned photographer, writer, and trip leader who has fast become one of the most highly decorated underwater wildlife shooters in the world. Henley is perhaps best known for his black and white imagery, showcasing the beauty of the aquatic world with distinctive minimalism. Fine art prints of his work now adorn walls around the globe.