BVA’s 2023 Veterinary Photographer of the Year competition now open

Now in its eighth year, the competition, sponsored by iM3 Dental, attracts hundreds of entries every year and showcases vet’s images of their daily lives, their colleagues, the animals they care for and wildlife they encounter. This year, for the first time, the winners will be announced in May at BVA Live in Birmingham, an event which brings the veterinary community together to champion, support and empower the profession. Finalists will be invited to BVA Live to see the winners unveiled and attend the prizegiving.

The competition opens today (Thursday 12 January 2023) until Sunday 12 March 2023 and features a brand-new category focusing on vets at work, as chosen by BVA President Malcolm Morley.

The categories are:

• Vets at work
  • What does life as a veterinary surgeon look like? Capturing the day-to-day life of a vet and the veterinary team in any capacity.
• All creatures great and small
  • An opportunity to explore the vast diversity of the animal kingdom: domestic, agricultural and all aspects of wildlife
• Happy pets that make us smile
  • Reflecting the joy of a happy, contented animal

All BVA members are encouraged to take part, whether they are a semi-professional photographer or simply handy with a smart phone. Last year’s competition saw hundreds of inspirational images submitted, featuring a wide range of locations from all around the world and animals of all species, making it a real challenge for the judges.

Among the winners and highly commended was Laura Caballo’s winning entry ‘Decisions’ in the ‘Sustainable futures’ category, which showed a captured fish held aloft by two hands in front of an industrial chimney bellowing smoke into the air. Peter Orpin won the ‘All creatures great and small’ category with his photo ‘Who’s arrived’, which captured a Gentoo penguin in Antarctica standing in front of a large ship just three weeks before lockdown in 2020. Finally, the ‘Happy pets which make us smile’ category was won by Bob Lehner, with his image ‘Chick Lit’, which showed him and his pet hen Hopalong Cassidy enjoying a good book together.

BVA President Malcolm Morley said: “This competition, showcases the unique talents, creativity and skills of BVA members.

“This year, we would love to see how our members can use their passion for photography to capture the essence of our profession. This is an opportunity to show what life as a vet is really like, to capture the hard work and challenges on camera but also to demonstrate the kindness, skills and compassion of our incredible colleagues – as well as the amazing animals they care for.

“This is your chance to show off your talents. We are so excited to see the stunning entries start to pour in and look forward to announcing the winner at this year’s BVA Live event in May.”

Images by the finalists will displayed at this year’s BVA Live event, which is held by BVA and the organisers of the London Vet Show, CloserStill Media (CSM), at Birmingham’s NEC on 11 – 12 May 2023. Finalists will be contacted in advance and receive a free ticket to BVA Live so they can attend the event and the prizegiving to reveal the winners. Winning photos will also be eligible for £250 worth of John Lewis vouchers.

The competition is open to all BVA members and membership must be active at the time of entering. The closing date is 5pm on Sunday 12 March 2023.

Find out more and submit your entry via the BVA website: www.bva.co.uk/photo-comp