2018 UK Landscape Photographer of the Year

[Julian Elliott]

To put the cat in the pigeons.

Earlier this year someone who is extremely well placed in terms of the competition told me they will never let a professional win.

Their credentials are there and I was gobsmacked when they told me. Nothing surprises when it comes to the competition.

My first image was chosen for political reasons. I was told this by one of the judges. Make of it what you will.

 

[Neil Burnell]

To put the cat in the pigeons.

Earlier this year someone who is extremely well placed in terms of the competition told me they will never let a professional win.

Their credentials are there and I was gobsmacked when they told me. Nothing surprises when it comes to the competition.

My first image was chosen for political reasons. I was told this by one of the judges. Make of it what you will.

Your first image? Was that a previous year Julian?

 

[Julian Elliott]

Your first image? Was that a previous year Julian?

Yes. The infamous cr@p HDR of the bridge and tea house up in Wales.

 

[Neil Burnell]

Yes. The infamous cr@p HDR of the bridge and tea house up in Wales.

Lol well, at least you're honest!

So do you still enter, or are you a pro and have been put off by the info you were given? Be a shame if you didn't enter as I personally don't think that's correct, just look how well Stuart McGlennon has don this year and he's a pro.

 

[Julian Elliott]

Lol well, at least you're honest!

So do you still enter, or are you a pro and have been put off by the info you were given? Be a shame if you didn't enter as I personally don't think that's correct, just look how well Stuart McGlennon has don this year and he's a pro.

I don’t know why but I do. Stupidity maybe?

Oddly enough one of my entries was from the same place as the winner in similar conditions. Took it back in January. His ice is more pronounced than mine.

I do wonder whether to enter at times. I’m hardly in uk anymore so if I get decent lighting it’s by chance.

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detai...scottish-high-res-stock-photography/923374866

 

[Brazo]

I don’t know why but I do. Stupidity maybe?

Oddly enough one of my entries was from the same place as the winner in similar conditions. Took it back in January. His ice is more pronounced than mine.

I do wonder whether to enter at times. I’m hardly in uk anymore so if I get decent lighting it’s by chance.

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detai...scottish-high-res-stock-photography/923374866

See my earlier post Julian. With respect the winning entry is very different to yours. It’s made up of sections of interlocking light and shade, not everyone can see this of course which is why they are stuck with their ‘photos’.

 

[Julian Elliott]

See my earlier post Julian. With respect the winning entry is very different to yours. It’s made up of sections of interlocking light and shade, not everyone can see this of course which is why they are stuck with their ‘photos’.

I never said anything against or criticized the winning image. I just said I had similar conditions.

 

[Brazo]

I never said anything against or criticized the winning image. I just said I had similar conditions.

Disappointingly the winning image is obviously a cliche shot as every man and his dog seems to ‘have it’ I do feel the winning shot offers something different however in this ‘overshot scene’

 

[LongLensPhotography]

winners like Mark Littlejohn's in 2014 which is superb. As I've said, a good few of the repeat names are there in my opinion (and clearly the opinion of a wide selection of judges over the years) because they produce a consistent high standard of work. It's not just this competition, but many others also. If you don't agree with that and you think they produce dull and uninteresting work that's fine, but you've been given a logical explanation as to why it keeps happening.

No competition is without flaws, that's just the way it is - photography is a subjective art form, I've always said it and i'll say it again that the idea it can be some sort of competitive pursuit is utter nonsense. I think you want this competition to be something that it isn't.

I couldn't disagree more about 2014. Personally it would have been an instant delete. But I appreciate people can have very opposite opinions and that is fine. We can have a vote here if you want. You will see what I mean. A major comp winner however shouldn't be one of those strongly polarising images that around half of the general public completely detest.

I said "Bright" merely to avoid the common "C" word, but frankly that should have been less ambiguous and more appropriate in this case. The comp reeks of elitist "fine art" establishment wannabe trying to pick all sorts of disagreeable and provoking work.

There may as well be decent commended images deep in the book that only a few people will ever see. It makes no impact nor difference to anybody without directly vested interest. The winners do matter.

It's a shame some people aren't a little more open-minded when it to other styles of landscape photography. I could use several examples of amazing photographers who didn't have success this year, but they remain dignified and congratulate those who were.

Anyway, congrats to all of those on this forum who were successful and keep trying LLP, try not to take it too seriously and I'm sure your time will come.

I haven't tried for 4 years and never will agin at this competition. I just doesn't interest me any longer. I have zero personal interest in it this year and was just expressing my personal opinion about winner image and judgement process. If I decided to try my luck it might be Sony or Zeiss comps and I understand I need a hell of an image to have any chance there.

Welcome to the world of LLP.



Photography is subjective, not quantative? Like any of these subjective competitions, be it strictly dancing, sky arts photographer or painter or your local photo club, the judging is done by people to their personal criterea. What works for them doesn't work for others - thats how it is.

Welcome indeed. Photography is both subjective and quantitative. It is. I won't go into it too deeply but there is some maths, geometry, colour science and ratios very heavily involved in making a likeable or dislikable image. Sometimes I see work that is a polar opposite of what I like, or rather how I would approach the subject myself. But then that image may have something in it, that I would still look at it and find matter or interest (define anything you like here) and I will say it is great work just maybe not my personal favourite. But great nonetheless and well deserved to be a top pick... Or on the other hand you look into and it is an empty shell pretending to be full. Just a brand name inflating a balloon... Or maybe just an epic fail. I seriously would like to see a very detailed written NO-NONSENSE report why they picked these images of these years winners. I bet it will read like birds language.

Edit: just highlighted what I think is key here.

 

[Julian Elliott]

Disappointingly the winning image is obviously a cliche shot as every man and his dog seems to ‘have it’ I do feel the winning shot offers something different however in this ‘overshot scene’

Question. Do people have the right to like or dislike something?

As I said, I have no feelings either way about the winner but in this day of social media it seems feelings are only ever expressed strongly either positively or negatively.

In some cases if you criticize certain photographers then you are hounded and thrown to the wolves.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Question. Do people have the right to like or dislike something?

As I said, I have no feelings either way about the winner but in this day of social media it seems feelings are only ever expressed strongly either positively or negatively.

In some cases if you criticize certain photographers then you are hounded and thrown to the wolves.

1) If their work evokes strong opinions on social media you are doing well to get noticed and probably will benefit from it in some way. Even if some dislike it. The images that bring no discussion or feelings are dead on arrival.

2) Try criticising something else and you will be locked up and key thrown out. Welcome to PC culture madness.

We are just having a nice civilised debate and it is fine to disagree and hopefully nobody is getting thrown to the wolves.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

To put the cat in the pigeons.

Earlier this year someone who is extremely well placed in terms of the competition told me they will never let a professional win.

Their credentials are there and I was gobsmacked when they told me. Nothing surprises when it comes to the competition.

My first image was chosen for political reasons. I was told this by one of the judges. Make of it what you will.

I would blow this out of proportions Wikileaks style. The comp has no credibility left in my view so the sooner it is replaced by something new the better for most.

 

[Brazo]

I would blow this out of proportions Wikileaks style. The comp has no credibility left in my view so the sooner it is replaced by something new the better for most.

Your allowing heresay to confirm a biased opinion.

This isn’t wiki leaks!

Just go out there and produce original not derivative work.

 

[Neil Burnell]

I haven't tried for 4 years and never will agin at this competition. I just doesn't interest me any longer. I have zero personal interest in it this year and was just expressing my personal opinion about winner image and judgement process. If I decided to try my luck it might be Sony or Zeiss comps and I understand I need a hell of an image to have any chance there.

Edit: just highlighted what I think is key here.

Yep the Sony World Photography Awards gets over 330k entries and caters for a lot of styles, I've been lucky to have 1 commended image in creative and 2 in architecture over the past 2 years. It does seem that LPOTY has similar tastes to Sony though, one of the Architecture/landscapes won the Your View section in LPOTY, so maybe that ones not for you either , maybe try your local club competitions first.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Yep the Sony World Photography Awards gets over 330k entries and caters for a lot of styles, I've been lucky to have 1 commended image in creative and 2 in architecture over the past 2 years. It does seem that LPOTY does have similar tastes to Sony though, one of the Architecture/landscapes won the Your View section in LPOTY, so maybe that ones not for you either , maybe try your local club competitions first.

Good for you.

I really wasn't looking for any advice thank you very much. It is probably time to start prepping your next years comp entry

 

[Neil Burnell]

Good for you.

I really wasn't looking for any advice thank you very much. It is probably time to start prepping your next years comp entry

Was all said tongue in cheek, I don't take them seriously at all and you need a lot of luck in all the comps. I have to say it is funny watching people get irate who don't even enter tho

 

[Brazo]

Yep the Sony World Photography Awards gets over 330k entries and caters for a lot of styles, I've been lucky to have 1 commended image in creative and 2 in architecture over the past 2 years. It does seem that LPOTY has similar tastes to Sony though, one of the Architecture/landscapes won the Your View section in LPOTY, so maybe that ones not for you either , maybe try your local club competitions first.

Unless it’s done on a sweepstake you haven’t been lucky at all

 

[Neil Burnell]

Unless it’s done on a sweepstake you haven’t been lucky at all

Lol, 99% luck I'd say especially getting past the 1st round of judges in LPOTY. As always with any art form its all subjective, the views on winning image will be split right down the middle this year IMO. It is funny when people moan about any competition directly after the results, it really does reek of sour grapes! Maybe rather than moaning publicly they should simply not enter in the future.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Lol, 99% luck I'd say especially getting past the 1st round of judges in LPOTY. As always with any art form its all subjective, the views on winning image will be split right down the middle this year IMO. It is funny when people moan about any competition directly after the results, it really does reek of sour grapes! Maybe rather than moaning publicly they should simply not enter in the future.

But I didn't enter and I didn't lose! No sour grapes then. The emperor has no clothes and people are pointing at it. It is a similar feeling when a council or estate developer builds a massive concrete Brutalist abomination right in your face and tells you it is pretty and arty and your proles have no clue.

 

[Neil Burnell]

But I didn't enter and I didn't lose! No sour grapes then. The emperor has no clothes and people are pointing at it. It is a similar feeling when a council or estate developer builds a massive concrete Brutalist abomination right in your face and tells you it is pretty and arty and your proles have no clue.

My comment obviously wasn't aimed at you then

 

[Stuart Mc]

. But I appreciate people can have very opposite opinions and that is fine.

A major comp winner however shouldn't be one of those strongly polarising images that around half of the general public completely detest.

Which one is it though? Photography is subjective but only to a point where it doesn't polarise opinion? It doesn't work like that I'm afraid. For a guy who professes not to not care about this competition and through your own choice not entering, you seem to be doing an awfully good impression of someone who actually cares a fair bit.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Which one is it though? Photography is subjective but only to a point where it doesn't polarise opinion? It doesn't work like that I'm afraid. For a guy who professes not to not care about this competition and through your own choice not entering, you seem to be doing an awfully good impression of someone who actually cares a fair bit.

1. I believe my statements are compatible with each other. You can polarise opinion on many fronts and I feel that the polarisation factor should never be used alone to select a winner. This is particularly true when it comes to image quality. The peak is hardly a polarising subject and neither is frozen river or ice. It is a common landscape features, and a very common location. So why do we need to go down the polarising route by picking as a winner a particularly depressing day and unexpressive flat processing? If there was something novel in it, or polarising as a subject matter I'd say fair enough.

2. I really don't care about this competition (otherwise I'd send a snail mail to Charlie Waitte, whose work is actually a head and shoulders better than the stuff he picks!), and my life is the same regardless but it is a good topic to chat about.

3. I do have some hard feelings about modern avantgarde art, dehumanization of art and fine art elitism, so at every opportunity I might just snap once in a while.

 

[Stuart Mc]

@LongLensPhotography You keep using absolute terms like 'depressing' ''unexpressive' etc when in reality someone may see those conditions as the complete opposite. As I've said the winning image does nothing for me either on a technical or creative level, but I can accept that it's been chosen for reasons than to simply polarise opinion.

 

[Nguss]

Interesting thread as they always are where this comp is concerned.

The winning image this year for me is probably one of 2 years that I just do not like. It may be different viewed / printed large but it is just not for me due to the composition, the light and those 3 little bits of ice creeping in at the bottom really bug me for some reason as does the large boulder / rock on the right. Weirdly I am one of the people who liked the 2012 winner though. I can understand, and appreciate the intention behind the image in terms of shapes and reflections and angles leading to the subject where the light is bad, but it just does not work for me, not that ultimately that matters one jot.

In terms of the same names appearing again and again, I am not too bothered about this, from looking at this years list on the website, from my own perspective I know just for the names that the image has more than a half decent chance of being interesting.

I think that for me my issue is not with the same names or what is chosen as the winner, but the same images form the same region appearing again and again every year in almost identical conditions. Chrome hill? in the snow? The Fairy Glen? With a long exposure?

Also well done to everyone on the site who had success in the comp!

 

[SFTPhotography]

The best winner for me still remains Andy Farrars Bats head shot - tbh that’s the only winner that’s actually worked for me.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

@LongLensPhotography You keep using absolute terms like 'depressing' ''unexpressive' etc when in reality someone may see those conditions as the complete opposite. As I've said the winning image does nothing for me either on a technical or creative level, but I can accept that it's been chosen for reasons than to simply to polarise opinion.

I equate flat grey skies with depressing conditions. We may ask a qualified psychologist for an expert opinion if you wish and know one. I know that 90% of the next 5 months will be very depressing, cold and miserable unless I manage to sort something out jobwise in Tenerife, etc for the winter months. There is no drama in the sky, it is just grey and quite flat.

I also equate flat grey skies and flat light, unless they are intentional and really well processed like in Neil Burnell's examples, as a technical flaw. I could accept it for portraits or journalistic work but not in landscapes.

The rest appears to be a typical classic landscape. You never know, maybe the guy submitted it as a joke amongst the better images thinking "If they pick this one it will be a lot of laugh"...

Just in the last 2-3 months I have seen at least 3 landscapes here on TP that would be easily worthy to be a winner. They are nowhere to be seen near the top. Probably never submitted but I certainly doubt it.

 

[MidnightUK]

this was in the last submission 4 years ago

Thats way better than the winner. No wonder you despair!

 

[Scirocco_09]

This thread has got pretty deep and there seems to be some paranoia! Julian stated a professional would never win, but isn’t the 2015 winner (Andy Farrer) a pro, and how about the 2012 winner, Simon Butterworth? Also I really don’t think the competition is judged on being a ‘name’, as it’s been pointed out many members of those ‘cliques’ had incredible images that weren’t selected. It all appears random as to who gets in- if you do the maths and there are 20,000 entries every year, and 65 of those end up in the Classic View category of the book, there’s a 0.33% chance of getting in that category, and there can only be one winner which will be selected from the whole of the competition - 0.005% from the 20,000 entries. There are bound to be amazing photos that don’t get in, and it’s already been said the book needs to sell so will have to show a variety of styles that will appeal to the public. I don’t believe anyone’s name has anything to do with it, and you’ll find the images that go down well on social media are usually nowhere to be seen in the book. Personally I think it’s worth trying but don’t worry if it doesn’t work out

 

[ancient_mariner]

there can only be one winner which will be selected from the whole of the competition - 0.0000005% from the 20,000 entries

I think you might find the chances a little better - that would be the equivalent of 0.00004 photographs winning. The odds are actually 0.005%.

 

[Scirocco_09]

I think you might find the chances a little better - that would be the equivalent of 0.00004 photographs winning. The odds are actually 0.005%.

Oops, finger trouble!

 

[mjmountain]

I didn't like the winner, didn't really evoke any emotion in me. Too much foreground for it to feel like a landscape (although looking at some of the other entries the term "landscape" is applied very loosely - leaves, washing lines etc.) and it's much too cramped.

My favourite was The Birds, Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland and Blizzard in the High Peak, Derbyshire, England was close behind. I get a real feeling of place from these 2 and they're way more evocative, they tell a story.

​

 

[Brazo]

Blizzard in the High speak was excellent. @Stuart Mc ’The Birds’ is amazing, I don’t know whether I prefer the winner to either shot but I can see the winning image is fantastic and deservedly should be placed high. I suspect with these things it’s very difficult to differentiate between a number of highly commendable images and that it’s almost a coin toss