Taken last year on Shetland this image has recently been highly commended in the British Wildlife Photography Awards. It shows a mother and cub that had previously been feeding off-shore, shaking themseleves to dry their coats. It was an all to brief moment as is often the case with otter photography and the pair were quickly on the move again as they resumed their search for prey. I had booked a couple of days with local otter expert Brydon Thomason from Shetland Nature (www.shetlandnature.net) who knows the islands like the back of his hand and is especially adept at getting photographers into the right place at the right time. This was such an occasion and as the two otters came ashore I was led prone on the wet rocks in anticipation. They were completely unaware of my presence and we continued to follow them down the coast for the next hour or so before we lost them amongst the rocks where they almost certainly settled down to nap. To see the other winning entries go to http://www.bwpawards.org/page/2011_winners