Love for the Land Photo Competition Winners

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It’s been 50 years since almost half of Dorset was officially recognised as OUTSTANDING – putting it in a family of just 41 nationally important protected landscapes in England and Wales.

The Dorset AONB Partnership launched the Love for the Land Photo Competition in the summer, inviting people to capture what they love about the Dorset landscape. With over 200 stunning entries to choose from, the Judges Sue Macpherson and Dave Penman had a difficult – but very enjoyable - job on their hands.

The Winner is Kevin Freeman whose stunning image taken from Hambledon really captures the spirit of what is so special about Dorset. The views, the strong sense of heritage and the fantastic use of light and composition all contributed to making this a winning shot.

Winning landscape photo by Kevin Freeman

Kevin Freeman, Adult Catergory Winner, View from Hambledon Hill

With so many great images to choose from, the judges awarded two Joint Runner Up prizes to Nathalie Amagat Roberts and Becky Campbell. Nathalie’s quirky image of a heart shaped fungi found at Pilsdon Pen proved to the judges that it’s not always the big views that makes the landscape so special. Beckys’ image of sun rising in Swanage was also a stunning reminder that built heritage of the area can very often contribute to the beauty of the landscape.

Peverell Point at sunset by Becky Campbell-runner up

Becky Campbell, Runner Up: Towards Peverill Point

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Nathalie Amagat Roberts, Runner Up

The Love for the Land Photo Competition also invited entries from Under 16s and had a good response. Judges awarded 11 year old William Grant First Prize for his image of Colmers Hill, a view he sees on the way to school each day. Runner Up prize went to 10 year old Sam Hubbard for his photo of the Fleet. Judges were impressed that both entries showed that the young photographers thought about the composition of their images, showing good potential for the future.

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William Grant, Winner Junior Catergory, Colmers Hill

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Sam Hubbard, Junior Runner Up,

Judge Dave Penman added ‘It’s great to see young photographers coming forward with an interest in the landscape – this competition has been about giving them some encouragement to take it further.

The Dorset AONB Partnership have produced a 2010 Love for the Land desk calendar that include some of the winning entries to the competition alongside other stunning images of the Dorset AONB landscape. We have 150 FREE calendars to give away – request your copy by emailing dorsetaonb@dorsetcc.gov.uk.