Stunning sea views win national photography prize
These stunning images capturing the drama and character of Britain’s coasts are among the winners of a national photography competition.
One of UK’s oldest maritime charities, the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, has annouced the results of its national quest to find the UK’s best sea view.
With a flood of entries from across the UK, the overall winner was Bernie Pettersen, an ex-Petty Officer in the Royal Navy, for his photo Smooth Harbour, which captured a storm crashing into the Bickford-Smith Institute clock tower building in Porthleven in Cornwall.
The competition was judged aboard the Cutty Sark in London, by a prestigious panel of media and maritime experts, including the picture editor at the Sunday Times, Ray Wells, the head of pictures at the Independent, Sophie Batterbury, the editor of Amateur Photographer, Nigel Atherton, and the chief executive of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, Commodore Malcolm Williams.
On the winning image, Sophie Batterbury said: “The overall winning picture for all of us summed up very much our country’s relationship with the sea and how sometimes it can be very strong and violent towards us and yet we just sit and watch and wonder at its mighty power.”
Winner of the judges’ choice category winner, was Lee Acaster’s At The Edges taken at Shingle Street, Suffolk. Of the judges’ choice image, Nigel Atherton said: “This photograph is a great exercise in minimalism, by stripping out all of the extraneous and unnecessary detail from the picture, and keeping a very simple composition.”
On the overall quality of the photography, judge Ray Wells said: “These photos express our love affair with the coast and the sea in all its extraordinary variety and this competition is a challenge to all photographers to bring that to life.”
Malcolm Williams said: “The important thing about the photography competition is to raise awareness among the general population of how much we rely on the sea and those who work with it every day.”
The charity, which celebrated its 175th anniversary last year, provides financial support to retired merchant seafarers, fishermen and their dependants in need, and also to those injured or too ill to continue working at sea.
