London Camera Exchange (LCE) has announced the winners of its inaugural competition, LCE Photographer of the Year 2024. The contest featured 14 different categories including the ‘People’s Choice’ award open to public voting. The competition attracted nearly 13,000 entries from all over the globe and demonstrates photography’s continuing appeal. Entry was open to images captured on all types of devices: phones, action cams, drones and (the vast majority) using more ‘traditional’ camera equipment.
First prize winner: Marilyn Taylor
Taking overall first prize is Marilyn Taylor with her submission entitled ‘Long Tongued Bat Approaching Banana Leaf’, shot in northern Costa Rica. Marilyn recalls: “It was so dark that it was very difficult to see these tiny bats flying like ghosts. We could only photograph for a short time, as they soon flew off. This was probably one of the most interesting shoots I’ve ever been on – it was absolutely fascinating. The fact that I achieved a couple of super images out of it was a terrific bonus.”
Marilyn, from Woking in Surrey, has a background in engineering from Oxford and now balances her time between freelance photography and playing golf. She is no stranger to photographic competitions, having previously won several contests and national gold medals. She was the first recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Digital Group PDI Raymond Wallace Thompson Trophy. Marilyn is currently studying at the UCA in Farnham for a Master of Fine Art Photography, working on diverse projects including the ‘Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Fine Art Photography’ and ‘Visual Alchemy’. Marilyn received £5,000 in LCE vouchers as the overall first prize winner.
Category winners (£500 vouchers each):
•Abstract – ‘Sailing’ by David Higton
•Action – ‘Speedsters’ by Kaushik Majumder
•After Dark – ‘Ready to Depart’ by Alexander Howard
•Birds – ‘Incoming Gannets’ by Linda Ariss
•Drone – ‘Haldon Belvedere Misty Sunrise’ by Daryl Baker
•Landscape – ‘Sunset at Shiprock’ by Curtis Blum
•Macro – ‘Wasp Trio Drinking’ by Ian Mears
•Music – ‘You!!’ by Dominic Beaven
•Pets – ‘Anti Gravity Dog’ by Daniel Sheridan
•Portrait – ‘Authenticity is a New Future’ by Laura Arkhypenko
•Street – ‘The Last Train’ by A B M Nayeem Siddiquee
•Travel – ‘Valencia Opera House’ by Graeme Hilditch
•Wildlife – ‘Long Tongued Bat Approaching Banana Leaf’ by Marilyn Taylor
•People’s Choice – ‘Yaks Nupse’ by Patrick Pfirrmann
The Landscape, Wildlife and Birds categories proved especially popular with entrants. Some of the shortlisted photographs featured particularly interesting stories, such as ‘Destination Dreamland’ by Becky Bailey, a deaf photographer who experiences the world through pictures.
‘Sycamore Gap – the Last Show’ by Ian Sproat, an electrician by day, is an outstanding image of the iconic Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall, captured just a week before it was maliciously chopped down.
One of the judges’ favourites, and Pets category winner, was an image of a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel entitled ‘Anti Gravity Dog’ by Daniel Sheridan. An employee of Bournemouth Council, Daniel also runs a photography website named ‘A Billion Clicks’, which – of course – specialises in dog photography!
The awards were presented at a special ceremony at The Photography & Video Show on Sunday 17 March 2024 at The NEC, Birmingham. All winners and runners-up had their images displayed in an exhibition at the entrance of the Birmingham show, and shortlisted photographs have been made into a commemorative book.
Nick Richens, chief executive of LCE, said: “We were thrilled by the sheer volume of entries to the competition and the outstanding quality and diversity of the photography submitted. Choosing the winning images was an especially tricky affair as there were just so many stand-out images. We would like to thank everyone for submitting their incredible work and making our very first POTY competition a resounding success. Congratulations to all the winners from the LCE team.”
The LCE POTY competition ran from October 2023 to January 2024, and was the first time the UK independent retailer had hosted a contest of this scale. Nearly 13,000 entries were submitted. Overall, there was a £12,000 prize fund generously supported by leading photo industry brands including Canon, Nikon, OM System, Fujifilm, Panasonic and Sony. Judges included Chris George, content director at Future Publishing, street photographer Peter Dench, journalist and She Clicks founder Angela Nicholson, and Nick Richens, Chief Executive at London Camera Exchange.
LCE is the UK’s largest chain of independent photographic stores and offers a wide portfolio of products and services for enthusiast and professional photographers and filmmakers. The company has been recognised for its outstanding customer service and support across the British photographic media for many years.
Image credit: Marilyn Taylor – ‘Long Tongued Bat Approaching Banana Leaf’
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