Derbyshire wildlife photographer Villager Jim lands national award for stunning Peak District picture

Jim’s image of a deer crossing a snow-covered Derbyshire road was voted picture of the year in a competition run by news photo agency SWNS, which supplies pictures to newspapers and magazines across the globe.

Jim said: “I took the shot whilst out on the moors looking for a barn owl I know well and whilst stood there in total silence the wonderful chap walked out of the woods, maybe 30 metres away from me, and crossed over the very quiet country lane. It was a wonderful moment and now we have this wonderful award, I’m chuffed to bloomin bits!”

Jim is certainly no stranger to collecting honours, after winning awards including a BBC Springwatch competition in 2012 with a starlings picture chosen from 50,000 entries. He also won the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2013/2014, followed by Press Photo of the Year 2015 and 2016.

Well-known in the area for his stunning shots of the countryside and nature of Derbyshire, he has built up a huge following on social media and only began taking photographs 15 years ago.

His photography started as a hobby and became a sideline in greetings cards, but Villager Jim’s on-line images now reach up to a million people a week on social media. Known as the Banksy of the photography world, nobody knows who he is

Villager Jim’s Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/VillagerJim and the online shop is at www.villagerjimsshop.com. To see more of the images shortlisted for the competition, visit the SWNS website at https://images.swns.com/