This photograph was taken on a family outing to a local tarn in Cumbria. It was winter and had been a hard frost. The tarn had frozen in the still shallows, yet, was still unfrozen in the deeper parts. The convergence between ice and water was making a stunning rippled effect and the picture has so much texture from the water, ice and movement that I took a whole series of photographs. These have become some of my favourite shots.
Photography has become a serious hobby since giving up work to look after our children and I have been entering a few competitions on the internet when I stumbled across the London Photo Festival. As a very busy mum of three I’d forgotten I’d even entered. Receiving the email to say I’d won was amazing. I’m delighted that the judge was taken with the shot as much as myself and my twitter followers! I am really looking forward to seeing my photograph exhibited at The Bridge Lounge, a pinnacle of my photographic career to date.
When judging this competition I was looking not only for images which were technically well-composed, lit and thought out, but also photography that drew me in and caused me to pause and think more about what was going on behind the scenes of the image, and what the artist was trying to convey.
Amy Bateman’s “Convergence” took my breath away, both aesthetically and technically. I could have let my mind swim in this image for hours, in the blurred lines of space and perspective. The meeting of two opposite waters, strong and soft, calm and powerful, definitely appealed to my emotional tastes!
Richard Maxim’s photograph also caused me to ponder more than just the strong composition and well executed, thought out scene. Playing with the human form in a style which makes one marvel at the female body for the agility and strength, as well as choosing to hide her head in the book lead to more questions than it did answers, which I enjoyed.
Finally, “Review” by Brett Canet-Gibson was incredibly striking and really held my physical and mental gaze. Keeping the subject anonymous (identifiable only by his penetrating stare into the lens) was a fantastically abstract way to play with portraiture. The tones were beautiful, and overall a very worthy winning shot.
These and the other top 17 images will be exhibited at The Bridge Lounge in London for three months. Congratulations to the finalists and all who entered!
Did you enter our abstract/fine art photography competition? Rosie Hardy is our judge and we hope to be announce the top 20 top selected images for exhibition and her top three favourites and winners of the pool of £1,000 soon!
Back by popular demand – our Retro Wall. This is a chance for first time exhibitors at our Festival to exhibit for free! Enter here.
You have two days and 10 hours to enter our monthly competition. The theme is ‘reflections’.
Tickets to Zoe Whishaw’s Masterclass are £10 until the end of March. Zoe will be holding a class on how to make the leap to becoming a professional photographer.
The deadline for our second Abstract/Fine Art Photography competition is 31 March – don’t miss out on a chance to win some cash and an exhibition in London.
A few spaces left for our Festival in May – the theme is ‘your journey’ or ‘your travels’ – this image could be taken on your way to work, walking the dog, journeys across the globe or showing us journeys around your city. Places can be booked on our website.
Rosie Hardy is a conceptual art photographer based in the Peak District. Her surreal self portraiture and creative photo manipulations capture escapism at its prettiest. Hardy has been shooting for a decade, working her way as a school girl trekking through fields – with the cheapest equipment money could buy – (clutching handfuls of props and looking rather out of place) to trekking through fields with slightly more expensive, mud covered equipment, but lots more confidence and excitement.
Her “Big Break” came at age 19 when she was discovered by Maroon 5, and was asked to shoot their album cover, “Hands All Over”. Since then, she has worked with numerous brands such as Microsoft, Pandora and Random House, as well as celebrities and musicians, but she still loves to shoot a decent wedding and just can’t seem to stay away from those fields…
Her work is inspired by emotion and human connection, and the comfort that can be found in art during times of loss and heartache.
Vote in our Street Photography Competition. Your vote can take up to 24 hours to register.
Masterclass with Zoe Whishaw – find out whether you are ready to make the leap to becoming a professional photographer. Early birdtickets are £10 until 31 March.
We are now taking bookings for May’s Festival – be quick as spaces are selling fast!
Enter our Abstract/Fine Art photography competition and win cash prizes & an exhibition in London.
Continuing with our year of celebration (this year we will be holding our 10th London Photo Festival), we have introduced a prize fund of £500 to share between the photographers selected by our judge as Best in Show, 1st and 2nd Runners up. The winner of the public vote, the f-Factor, will also win photography related prizes! Find out more about our festival on our website.
Plus, we launch a new fine art photography competition – you can enter here to win cash prizes and an exhibition in London.
Zoe Whishaw joins us again at our Festival in May with a Masterclass on whether you are ready to become a professional photographer. Tickets cost £10 (earlybird until 31st March, £15, thereafter)
