LPOTY 2020

Here’s my shortlisted photo that’s now in Charlie’s bin. :D

Best of luck to those who have got through to the next round.

I think this is absolutely lovely. Nicely composed with gorgeous light and a wee bit of a vanishing distance. In terms of the competition my opinion doesn't help but its certainly an image to return to with not a little pride in my opinion.

The competition is what it is. If at any stage it has the potential to make you unhappy don't enter. The competition needs you to validate it, not the other way round. Easy for me to say because I've done okay in it in the past. I just love what landscape photography has given me in terms of great days out, some marvellous friends, access to a a great community, an appreciation of nature and the countryside. Thats all I really concentrate on now.
 
These were my longlisted entries... I'm actually going to be away for the awards evening which would have been awkward had I won so this is probably a blessing in disguise :D


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Beautiful set, nothing wrong with those.
I had that problem a few years ago, ironically I was photographing an awards ceremony and couldn’t get out of it.
 
I think it waters it down a bit, it's a prestigious competition because it isn't easy to get accepted. I wonder whether the longlist stage is probably there to stop people getting disillusioned and give them a bit of hope so they keep entering. Obviously I was disappointed not to get to the final round but at the end of the day the vast majority of entries won't get in and I've had more than my fair share of luck in the past... I'm led to believe that there is usually around 20,000 entries, this year it was over 30,000 and the book only has 224 pages not good odds!
I can see the thinking behind it, more shortlisted and more entries keeps folk coming back and makes more money etc. - as you say though it's not like the book was going to get any bigger, so there would always be a big cull no matter what. Some lovely images in that selection - we know that on another day any of them could have got through, just pot luck as by this stage as most images will come up to a certain level of technical excellence, it just comes down to a subjective preference by the judges. Particularly like that dead trees one.

Regards what they look for, like you I agree that they're probably looking for images with more creativity/imagination/originality. For the competition and the genre as a whole to keep evolving I think there should always be a greater emphasis and merit on images which show flair and originality. Many people forget that something being aesthetically pleasing isn't the overriding criteria in deciding what succeeds in competitions like this, it's a mix of many other factors. 1000's of similar images of the Buckle / Durdle Door / Buttermere etc. probably get glanced over because for the most part, as harsh as it sounds, while undoubtedly 'beautiful' to look at for the most part they rank pretty low on skill level simply because the formula has been repeated so many times before. Images of these places probably have to be 11/10 conditions to get noticed. That isn't to say I agree with some of the choices that get through each year, that is of course subjective, but I agree with the sentiment.
 
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I’m out too. I had two that made it through the first cut, but got no further. TBH I can’t remember which ones of mine were shortlisted and I’m not sure I can be arsed to go and check.
 
Congratulations to Neil Burnell for winning the Black and White category - I don't recognise any of the other winners names from here.
 
Chuffed to have picked up a Highly Commended in the B&W category, especially when you "lose" to the likes of Neil in the category, and the overall winner and the classic view winners are really nice too. I think the bar has been raised a lot this year.
 
Well done Martin. A just reward for all the work you put in mate. Internet is pants where I am so struggling to see them all properly but from what I’ve seen there is some beautiful stuff in there
 
Well done to everyone from TP who has been recognised this year. Some truly stunning images.
 
Well done Martin. A just reward for all the work you put in mate. Internet is pants where I am so struggling to see them all properly but from what I’ve seen there is some beautiful stuff in there

Cheers mate, truly appreciated. I think this year could well be one of the best regarding quality throughout from the images I've seen doing well.


Well done !
Thank you James :)
 
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