A SOUTH Essex photographer says he is “over the moon” after netting a share of £10,000 for his incredible picture of slime mould.

Jason McCombe, 34, from Thundersley, has won the botanical Britain category at the British Wildlife Photography Awards.

The nature photographer created his prize-winning picture by overlaying 160 images of the three-millimetre collection of single-celled organisms, which group together into colourful orbs to spread their spores.

Mr McCombe said: “It feels amazing to win this. Up until this point, I have admired the photography of others and thought that I would love to achieve something like this. I am over the moon and still riding high from the win.

“I have always been obsessed with nature and wildlife and have been hooked on wildlife photography after a 2014 trip to India.

“I photograph everything really. I work with slime moulds and insects too. I love it, any part of nature, so if I can capture any part of it, I will.”

Mr McCombe’s prize-winner took two days of editing work to achieve the desired effect and dozens of failed attempts in its wake trying to ensure the intended colour and sharpness of image could be achieved due to the subject’s small size.

He said: “Sometimes I spend two hours trying to find the perfect stack of slime moulds. They can be found underneath logs and I am always looking for them.

“For this image, I used a leaf as an image background and you have to heavily magnify using the camera to ensure the background is not blurry and you can even get the tiny thing into focus.”

Mr McCombe has entered the competition in previous years but has never won, with his closest attempt before this year being a picture of a jumping spider nominated for the hidden Britain award.

He said: “They are absolutely one of my favourite things to photograph. They are such a challenge because they always move but if you get one, they are just so photogenic.”