Dover, 5am, Dover Teri Pengilley
Highly commended, people category
‘Lucy Sims is one of the Sea Gals: six girls aged 13/14, who swam across the English Channel as a relay team in a time of 13 hours and 23 minutes on 19 July 2018. Lucy, seen here, is swimming the first leg of the relay, having just left Samphire Hoe beach in Dover. Lucy was incredibly brave to get into the English Channel at first light and start swimming. As a storyteller, I like my images to have narrative. Here, the receding white cliffs of Dover, rising sun, and the power and determination of the young swimmer all help to tell the story.’ @ teripengilley Teri’s Tips 1 Understanding the light and the best times of day to shoot will make a big difference to your images. I knew from experience that this starting leg would make the best images, with the blue of the dawn light reflecting the coldness of the water. The softness of the early morning light reveals the details on the water’s surface. 2 I’m a keen outdoors swimmer and I believe in photographing subjects who you are passionate about it, as it comes across in your photos. I was in absolute awe at these amazing young girls, so tiny in the vast expanse of water, yet powering through it. I still get goose bumps when I think about what they achieved that day. 3 As well as capturing a technically great image, it’s important to think about your narrative. Choose a lens to capture your subject and their surroundings to add a sense of scale and tell a story. I shot wide with a 28mm lens to capture the scale of the Channel, with Lucy close enough for us to see her in relationship to her environment. Shooting close to the water helps to immerse the viewer into Lucy’s watery world.