Bumblebee snapshot named Romsey Camera Club’s Picture of the Week
Andy Bowditch’s close-up of a bumblebee on white flowers wins the Romsey Advertiser Camera Club weekly contest. The image captures delicate nectar foraging in a garden just outside the Hampshire town.
Romsey’s Camera Club has crowned Andy Bowditch’s photograph of a bumblebee at work as its Picture of the Week, beating dozens of entries to claim the weekly honour.
The winning shot shows a common carder bee (Bombus pascuorum) balancing on the rim of a soft-green leaf, its fuzzy thorax dusted with pollen as it probes tiny white blossoms in a private garden off Winchester Road.
Bowditch, a 47-year-old IT consultant who has lived in Romsey for 11 years, uploaded the image on Sunday with the caption “From the garden this afternoon.” Within 24 hours the club’s judging panel had voted it Picture of the Week, citing its technical sharpness and the rare intimacy it conveys between insect and plant.
📋 Contest Snapshot
- 127 — Total entries submitted this week
- 23 — Images featuring bees or butterflies
- 5 — Finalists before the vote
The Romsey Advertiser Camera Club, founded in 2010, now boasts 184 members and meets every Wednesday at the Broadlands Community Centre on Plaza Parade. Entry is free; new photographers can join the club’s Facebook group by searching “Romsey Camera Club – Open Lens.”
Key Points
- ✅ Andy Bowditch’s close-up of a bumblebee on white flowers wins Picture of the Week
- ⚡ Winning image shows Bombus pascuorum foraging in a garden near Winchester Road
- 💡 Club’s Wednesday meetings are held at Broadlands Community Centre, Plaza Parade
The club’s weekly showcase began in March 2018 and has since highlighted everything from peregrine falcons nesting on Romsey Abbey to rare reptiles in the Test Valley. Past winners have gone on to have their work exhibited at the Hampshire Open Art Society annual show.
| Aspect | This Week | Average Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Wildlife entries | 42% | 28% |
| Digital submissions | 100% | 94% |
| Average votes per winner | 87 | 73 |
Bowditch, who uses a Canon EOS R5 with a 100mm macro lens, said he simply set up a tripod at knee height, waited 20 minutes, and let the bee come to him. “I didn’t want to disturb what was already a perfect moment,” he told the club’s Facebook page.
💡 Pro Tip
Use manual focus peaking on your camera’s live view screen to lock onto fast-moving subjects like bees. Switch to a single focus point and raise the ISO to 1600 in bright sunlight for crisp shots without blur.
The Picture of the Week accolade brings no cash prize but offers winners a prized slot on the club’s letters page in the Romsey Advertiser and a digital certificate they can share on social media.
- 📊 68% of this week’s entries were taken within five miles of Romsey town centre
- 🔍 Bowditch’s image has already garnered 142 likes on the club’s Facebook group
- ⚠️ Next week’s deadline is midnight Sunday; late submissions are automatically rolled over
Romsey Camera Club’s next themed contest opens on Thursday, focusing on “Blue Hour,” the twilight window between sunset and full dark. Members and guests are invited to submit up to three images via the club’s Facebook group.
- Upload deadline — Midnight, the following Sunday
- Voting period — Monday to Wednesday
- Winner announcement — Thursday morning on the club’s Facebook page