After my success in Take-a-View’s Landscape Photographer of the Year 2016, I never thought I'd be able to equal 3 commended awards in the competition. However, I'm proud to announce that not only have four of my images have been chosen to be in the book, but ‘Cast’ won highly commended and ‘Encompassed’ was given Judge’s Choice by the picture editor of The Times, Russ O’Connell.
The exhibition of selected images will be on display at Waterloo Station from 20th November, which includes my images ‘Cast’ and ‘Encompassed’. There will also be a digital display, where all the awarded images will be displayed, including my ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ and ‘Shift’ photographs.
The Landscape Photographer of the Year Edition 11 book is available at all good bookstores!
Cast - Highly Commended
There are several fields near home which are used for growing grass on a massive scale. I spotted the potential in this composition whilst returning home from a previous photographic outing. The sun was low in the sky, which created an incredibly long shadow from the lone tree. I originally envisaged a composition with the tree in the foreground and the shadow stretching out into the distance. The drone gave me the freedom to easily try different viewpoints but this composition I thought worked very well indeed.
Encompassed - Commended
I had a hunt around for a wheat field being harvested with a view to taking an aerial shot of a combine harvester, but on this day it was all quiet! From a quiet country lane I spotted this lone tree on a rolling hill in the distance, nestled in a wheat crop. I took the opportunity to fly the drone over to see what image I could make from the scene. The circular tractor tracks encompassing the tree framed it perfectly whilst the straight tracks added direction beyond.
Spirit of Ecstacy - Commended
Taken at Skipwith Common in North Yorkshire, Skipwith National Nature Reserve is one of the last remaining areas of lowland heath in the north of England. Like many of my aerial drone shots, it is difficult to scout out new compositions until you are up in the air. The marshland is scattered with lakes and ponds, which provides seemingly endless photo opportunities as the seasons alter the landscape. The high viewpoint gave me the opportunity to view the expanse of the common and look for interesting shapes on the ground. From around 100m up in the air this lake reminded me of Rolls Royce’s Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet ornament!
Shift - Commended
This shot just happened to be a lucky find! I was helping my next door neighbour’s daughter with her college project, taking some aerial shots in the fields near the village where we live. When we had finished, I flew up to around 100m and panned the drone around to see if there was anything interesting in the landscape. I spotted this zig-zagged ditch about half a mile away in the distance and headed over to its location to see if I could make an interesting composition from it.
October 15, 2017