Country Life picture editor Lucy Ford chooses her very favourites from the astonishing images of nature in the 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year competition.
Snowy mountains, misty forests, rolling hills golden with crops. There’s no better tribute to this green and pleasant land than the annual Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards.
‘I wanted to provide everybody with an opportunity to join a huge celebration of the beauty and diverse nature of the wonderful landscape of the UK,’ says Charlie Waite, the photographer who came up with the idea for the competition 15 years ago.
‘Photography has become the people’s new common language. Sharing the precious nature of the landscapes of the UK will help to contribute an understanding of quite how sacred it is.’
[READ MORE: Charlie Waite on how to take a photo — and why an iPhone is good enough]
He believes the competition has helped people view landscape photography as ‘a challenging, creative process’, one that requires both skill and devotion to transport the public ‘to that same place where the photographer stood and wondered’.
This year’s overall winner is Will Davies, with a winter view towards the west of the Brecon Beacons from the Pen-y-Crug hill fort.
‘The wonderful relationship between the distant, cold, snow-covered tones above, gradually merging into warmer and warmer tones below, is perfectly orchestrated,’ explains Mr Waite.
The overall winner, by William Davies: ‘Brecon in Winter’, Brecon Beacon National Park, Wales. Dawn sunlight warms up a winter’s morning in the Brecon Beacons. ‘This image was taken from the Pen-y-Crug hillfort which provides a spectacular panorama of Brecon and the surrounding mountains. On this December morning, sunlight broke through a clearing snowstorm, adding a wonderful burst of warmth and colour to the scene. I used a telephoto lens to help compress the sunlit fields and distant snowy hills.’ ©Will Davies via 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
‘In the lower third, we are offered the expertly balanced geometric design of the dry-stone walls, together with the three trees giving clear punctuations, all within the thrillingly vivid-yellow background. The viewer relishes a superb visual experience in this hugely well-deserved winning photograph.’
The best entries are featured in a touring exhibition — see lpoty.co.uk/exhibition or follow @uklpoty to find out more — and in a book, Landscape Photographer of the Year Collection 15, which is out now.
Country Life’s picture editor Lucy Ford picks her favourites from 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
‘Sycamore Gap Sun and Moon’, by Brian Eyler. Sycamore Gap Sun and Moon. Northumberland, England. ‘I took this shot around 3am. It’s a series of 30 images stitched together and shows a side of sycamore gap not often photographed.’ Credit: Brian Eyler via 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
Tryfan by Aled Lewis. A photo of the iconic Tryfan in Snowdonia National Park. ‘I wanted to get the rays of the setting sun on the peaks of the mountain. I had to scramble up as fast as I could to this spot to catch the light before it disappeared!’ Credit: Aled Lewis via 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
Before the Harvest by Peter North. Hertfordshire, England. ‘Taken in late July, this is a long depth-of-field shot of some wheat fields taken at Therfield, Herts. I wanted the image to show each individual ear of wheat in the foreground all the way through to the distant hills on the horizon. The rolling hills in the middle distance had pronounced tractor lines and subtle colour variations emphasising their form. The whole landscape had many textures, tones and topography but I wanted a composition that held all these elements together. This was captured via multiple, panoramic exposures to retain the natural perspective and to retain good detail in the merged file. I tried a simple wide angle shot but this tended to distort the perspective making the distant features appear too small in the frame.’ Credit: Peter North via 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
‘The Broth’ by Andrew Robertson. ‘This image was taken on a foggy morning in Richmond Park, London. I waited until shortly after sunrise to allow the sunlight to stream through the trees. I achieved this composition using a long lens and waded into the brook to minimise distractions in my composition. Living in London, I found it particularly gratifying to find a landscape image I was so fond of close to home.’ Credit: Andrew Robertson via 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
Peter Nickols’ ‘Snowy Peaks’. This photo was taken in early December 2021, Peak District, Derbyshire, England. Credit: Peter Nickols via 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
Steve Stain’s ‘Out of this World’, Yorkshire, England. ‘I travelled over two hours one foggy morning with the intention of getting this exact image, so fingers crossed and off I set. It was about 4:30 a.m. and I was hoping to arrive for sunrise. I managed to get there on time but there was no fog near the bridge. I spent a while photographing the sunrise and noticed the fog rolling in up the estuary. I couldn’t believe my luck, the fog bank had engulfed the south side of the Humber bridge. It was amazing to see and I was so lucky to capture the event as it unfolded.’ Credit: Steve Stain via 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
Chris Gorman, ‘The Colour of Spring’: RHS Apprentice Molli Christman waters some of the 274 different types of Pansies on display in the Floral Fantasia garden at RHS Garden Hyde Hall in Essex. Credit: Chris Gorman / RHS via 2022 Landscape Photographer of the Year
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