Philip Carpenter, of Norwich, won a competition for his photo of a barn owl amongst bluebells on the Blickling Estate; Photo credit: Philip Carpenter.

A Norwich photographer finished runner-up in a competition by capturing nature at its best at Blicking Hall in north Norfolk.

Thirty-nine-year-old Philip Carpenter, from Three Score, was runner-up in the visitwoods.org.uk photography competition run by the Woodland Trust.

Mr Carpenter’s photo of a barn owl amongst bluebells on the Blickling Estate was selected from more than 6,000 entries by naturalist, cameraman and presenter Simon King.

The competition was set up to encourage members of the public to add photos of over 11,000 woods which are held on the online woodland database.

Of Mr Carpenter’s entry, Mr King said: “The chance of a wild encounter is one of the great thrills of walking in woodland and what better brush with nature than a barn owl in a bluebell wood.

“The portrait gives the viewer a real sense of sharing the photographer’s experience with soft foreground and harmonious balance.”

Mr Carpenter said: “I often visit Blickling in spring to photograph the bluebells that flower en masse in the great wood. Normally the carpet of blue is a spectacle in itself, but seeing a barn owl hunting silently in the morning light was a sight to savour. Once the owl perched I took the opportunity to photograph it.”