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Monday 16 Apr 2012

EAST MIDLANDS PHOTOGRAPHERS CALLED TO RECORD THEIR RAILWAY VIEW AND WIN £10,000 IN LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION

Region & Route:

After a stunning photograph of railway lines in Leicestershire at night was a runner up last year; the challenge to East Midlands photographers is to take the best photograph of the British landscape and rail network. Entries are now open for the Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2012, photographers across Britain are being encouraged to showcase the best sights the country has to offer.

In 2011 Tim Daniels had his image shortlisted out of around 500 entries for the Network Rail 'Lines in the Landscape' special award. Network Rail is supporting the competition again this year.

Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards sees amateurs and professional photographers highlight the very best imagery of Britain’s beautiful rural and urban scenery and compete for the top prize of £10,000. The competition, now in its sixth year, is the idea of renowned landscape photographer, Charlie Waite, and the best images will be displayed at an exhibition at the National Theatre in London.

An additional prize will be given for the best photography of Britain’s rail network – The Network Rail ‘Lines in the Landscape’ Special Award. Last year’s winner was Shahbaz Majeed from Dundee.

Martin Frobisher, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “"This competition celebrates something very special: the way this country looks in all its different ways, some changing, some not. I am delighted that the railway, which forms such an important backdrop for both the urban and rural landscape in so many places, should be a part of it, and look forward with anticipation to seeing the entries."

Charlie Waite, competition founder is keen to encourage more people to enter the railway award. He said: “Judging this award is a great pleasure for me as Britain’s railways have always been close to my heart. Network Rail looks after an amazing 20,000 miles of track and owns over 2,500 stations and so the photographic opportunities are endless. I will be looking for an image that captures the spirit of today’s railways, be they in the busiest cities or most remote countryside. Details, urban views and sweeping tracks are all eligible and I am hoping to see many photographs that inspire.”

This year’s winner of the Lines in the Landscape award will receive a prize of a weekend break and has the option of joining a flight in Network Rail’s helicopter which has onboard infrared technology to monitor thousands of miles of track, or a ride on the New Measurement Train, a converted high speed train that is used to capture geotechnical track data safely, punctually and reliably, collecting real time data and clocking up 80,000 miles per year. Either prize would offer a unique photography opportunity not open to the public.