Mountain Photo of the Year!
Your best images of 2017 revealed
“It was last January, when my wife and I went to Scotland,” says Geoff Shoults, of the day he took the photo that, 12 months later, would bag him the title of Trail Mountain Photo of the Year 2017.
“I don’t like planning Scottish trips in advance, and sure enough we had a van full of skis, ice axes and all sorts – and there was no snow, no winter conditions in the hills whatsoever. But there were also no midges!”
Buxton native Geoff and his wife were nearing the summit of Buachaille Etive Beag in Glen Coe when this vista, looking into Glen Etive with the distinctive twin tops of Ben Starav in the background presented itself.
“I took quite a few shots, some with my wife and some without,” says Geoff. “I don’t really rattle off hundreds in a day – I’ve done most of my photography using film, so I presume every shot is costing me money!”
A self-confessed old-school photographer, Geoff began taking pictures as a child with an old Russian Zenit camera in the Lakes, Snowdonia and the Peak District. “I carried on using slide film as long as possible and was quite late switching to digital,” he says. “I used to quite like the challenge of recording the light on film, I’m not a great fan of post-processing. I try to be faithful.”
Having given up full-time work in favour of part-time roles in an outdoor shop and as a gardener during the summer, Geoff is enjoying his ‘flexibility to clear off at the drop of a hat’. Lucky man.
“What I love about the mountains is the constantly changing conditions. You can go up the same hill a dozen times and it looks different
“YOU CAN GO UP THE SAME HILL A DOZEN TIMES AND IT LOOKS DIFFERENT EVERY TIME, AND IT’S A CHALLENGE TO CAPTURE.”
every time, and it’s a challenge to capture. Although I have to say this was my first time up Buachaille Etive Beag.”
Soon after our chat Geoff planned to be off to the Lake District with his prize: a Fujifilm X-T2 camera worth £1,649.
“I spend a lot of time on photography. I’m not a professional but I have aspirations to at least earn some income from it. Winning this prize has spurred me on in this a bit, and I recently launched my first website (www.geoffshoults.com).
“It’s great to get some recognition. And obviously, the prize is fantastic – this is the camera I’ve lusted after for a while!”