Guild Photography Award

Wayne sweeps the board!

The Guild's revived photographic award attracted an encouraging entry of 60 images, more or less evenly divided between the four categories – People, Livestock, Crops and Landscape.

But unknown to the judges, all the images chosen as the category winners were taken by the same photographer, giving Cumbrian freelance, Wayne Hutchinson, a remarkable clean-sweep!

Wayne Hutchinson

The judges shortlisted several entries in each category from the Guild website and then assessed high resolution copies for technical quality as well as content and composition.

Nick Bond who, as deputy Chairman at the time, co-ordinated the judging process, said the judges had quite a task picking the category winners and an overall top image.

"All the images that made it into the shortlist were photographs that worked on various levels," said the judges. "The winners were very dynamic images that pulled the viewer into the subject matter."

In the People category, Wayne pipped freelance journalist Neil Ryder to the winner's certificate, while in the Livestock section, Farmers Guardian photographer Marcello Garbagnoli’s uplands farming scene was runner up.

Press & Journal farming editor Joe Watson was awarded the second-spot prize in the Crops category for a study of onions, while Mike Ashton's flood scene brought him the runner up certificate in the Landscape category.

The Overall Winner.

Joe's onions were deemed worthy of the runner up prize overall but, needless to say, one of Wayne's images – showing leaves being plucked from a maize cob – was judged the overall winner. He will receive his multitude of certificates, and the President's Award for Best Photograph, at the Guild's Royal Show awards evening party.

"We're delighted at the number of Guild members who made the effort to enter this revived competition and the way it showcased the outstanding talent they possess," says Nick Bond. "The winning images will be displayed on the Farmers Club stand at the Royal Show and possibly at other events through the year."

Judges for this year's competition were Guild President, Margaret, the Countess of Mar; Steven Skinner, chief executive of the Farmers Club; and Julian Rodriguez, Dean of the School of Media at the London College of Communication.

International Award

Guild members can have another go at winning a prize for their artistic talents by entering the IFAJ Star Prize for Agricultural Photography.

Sponsored by DeLaval, the dairy equipment and supplies specialist, there are three categories – People, Production and Nature/landscape – with a €250 prize for category winners plus €500 for the overall winner.

Visit the IFAJ contest's webpage for details.