Norfolk man’s photograph of a minke whale off Scottish coast wins him holiday

A Cromer man's picture of a minke whale claimed runners-up spot at the Mammal Society's annual photography competition.

Minke Miniscus by Carl Chapman was taken off the Ardnamurchan peninsula on the west coast of Scotland.

He said: 'It was a very still day and we came across about seven minke whales. This one was rather curious and circled the boat several times, each time skimming the underside of the surface before rising to breathe.'

The competition's chief judge Hilary Conlan said: 'Carl's photograph works really well with the completely smooth silky look of the water but clearly a giant underneath. It is unusual to capture the exact moment before the water is broken.'

Mr Chapman won a two-day stay at Knepp wildlife safaris in Sussex.

The Mammal Society is a charitable organisation whose mission is to identify effective conservation strategies and to provide the scientific evidence-base for policy and practice.