This year’s Readers Photography Competition winner, Chris Martin, has been into photography for as long as he can remember.

The 53-year-old, originally from Cheshire in England, has been living in Douglas for the past fifteen years and has developed a major grá for Fota Wildlife Park where he snapped his winning shot.

“I’ve always been drawn to animals and Fota is such a great place to take photographs,” he said.

Speaking about the inspiration behind his winning snap, Chris said he hadn’t heard howler monkeys actually howling before and was curious.

“I wanted to hear them because they are one of the loudest animals in the world.

“That particular morning, I got there early, nobody else was around and the three monkeys started to howl, and it really was incredibly loud.

“I took loads of photographs but this one stood out because it looks like they’re all in harmony, one singing a low note, one singing a middle note and one singing a high note,” he said.

The season pass holder loves that as well as getting up close and personal with exotic animals at Fota, natives like red squirrels and herons can also roam the park.

As well as shooting at Fota, the Nikon enthusiast also tries to spot otters in Cork city, in the River Lee.

“That’s my favourite thing at the moment, looking for otters in the city,” he said.

For now, photography is just a hobby for Chris as he works in IT at Laya Healthcare, but he really enjoys the “bit of peace and quiet and mindfulness” that photography brings.

Chris’ long-term partner Debbie also enjoys nature and animal watching. 

Chris was shocked when he found out he was the overall winner of the competition.

“There are some really stunning photographs from the weekly winners, so I’m quite pleased to be picked as the overall winner because there are some stunning photographs there,” he said.

If you want to check out more of Chris’ photography, you can find him on Instagram @looselenscap.