Following on from the huge success of last year's inaugural Eye on Nature, the wildlife photography competition launches once again this afternoon, Tuesday 1st February.
Derek Mooney will be live in studio on Today with Maura and Dáithí this afternoon from 3.30pm to launch this year's competition.
Last year there were over 7,000 entries, and all eyes will once again be on the natural world in 2022. Photos of landscapes, flora and fauna will all be welcomed by keen amateur and professional photographers.
The winner of Eye on Nature 2021 was Larry Doherty, who took an astonishingly sharp close up of the tiny orange ladybird, Halyzia sedecimguttata, bóin Dé buí, at Cabragh Wetlands, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
This year's competition will be judged by award-winning filmmaker Anne Sommerfield, wildlife photographer Mike Brown and Matthew Jebb, Director of Botanic Gardens of Ireland.
The closing date for entries is 12 noon on Friday, March 4 and the winner will be announced live from the Botanic Gardens exhibition on The Today Show on Wednesday, April 27.
Along with a €1000 cash prize, the winner will be presented with a trophy and will have their photograph displayed at the National Botanic Gardens, along with the other 11 other finalists. The exhibition of finalist images is due to tour other OPW sites later in the year.
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Speaking on the competition, Matthew Jebb said: "The Office of Public Works is delighted to be hosting the launch of the second Eye on Nature competition at the National Botanic Gardens."
"Ireland’s wildlife is so precious and essential to all of us, and seeing it afresh from another photographers’ viewpoint is always inspiring and uplifting."
"Having the finalists printed in large format and displayed in an outdoor setting really is breath-taking, and as with last year, we hope to tour the exhibition around the country to other OPW sites."
There will be regular updates on the competition on Today with Maura and Dáithí and listeners can enjoy interviews and much more on Mooney Goes Wild on RTÉ Radio 1.
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For more info or to submit an entry, visit www.rte.ie/eyeonnature.
