Monday 10 May 2010
PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION TO SHOWCASE WEST MIDLANDS FINEST RAIL VIEWS
- Region & Route:
Network Rail is to support a national photography competition showcasing the most stunning and beautiful views of the UK landscape, including Britain’s railway network, with its Victorian engineering icons and modern new structures, images of which are captured by millions every year.
Entry for the fourth annual Take a view Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards is now open to amateurs and professionals alike. The competition is the idea of renowned landscape photographer, Charlie Waite and the best images will be showcased at an exhibition at the National Theatre in London. Network Rail will share the main support of the competition with Natural England and will also give an additional prize for the best photography of its network – The Network Rail ‘Lines in the Landscape’ Special Award.
Iain Coucher, chief executive explained why Network Rail was supporting the competition: "For over 150 years, the railway has helped connect people across the length and breadth of Britain, with some spectacular structures such as the Forth Bridge and Ribblehead viaduct. Network Rail has the special duty of protecting and promoting this legacy as well as building a modern rail network for the 21st century, and we are proud to be part of the visual history of Britain.
"We are very happy to support this competition, and even more so to have a special award for the best photography of our rail network. Travelling by rail is becoming ever more popular, and we hope that, through this competition, even more people will see and appreciate its beauty and importance in Britain today."
Notes to editors
The images shown are of previously entered photos and are illustrative of the type of entry that will be considered.
The competition has four main categories:
- Classic view
- Living the view
- Your view
- Urban View
Photos entered into one of the main categories can also be entered into the Network Rail ‘Lines in the Landscape’ Award. More details are available at www.take-a-view.co.uk
The top prize given to the Landscape Photographer of the Year is £10,000. Winner of the Network Rail ‘Lines in the Landscape’ Special Award will be offered a special walking tour of the Forth Rail Bridge with an overnight’s stay in Edinburgh and rail tickets to the city.
Following the announcement of the winners later this year, the National Theatre will host an eight-week exhibition from 20th November and a full colour book of Best Entries will be available.
All entries to the award must be uploaded via the competition website,
www.take-a-view.co.uk and the closing date is 15th July 2010. Entry fees apply. Full terms and conditions can be found on the site.
Rail industry employees (other than those closely linked to the organisation of the competition) are eligible to enter. However, all photos must be taken from a public right of way to ensure fairness. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.take-a-view.co.uk
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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