Past masters
It’s one of the biggest competitions in photography, but what did winning mean to those whose images were awarded the top prize? Ailsa McWhinnie speaks to six previous winners of LPOTY to find out
2007 Jon Gibbs, Great Yarmouth Storm over Scroby Sands Wind Farm, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
‘In 2007, I was working in Morrisons in Norwich. At the time, there weren’t many photography competitions, and as this new one had a prestigious title, I thought I’d give it a go.
‘ The evening I took the image, the weather was mad, and when the storm moved behind the turbines, I knew I’d got something. In those days, you didn’t think in terms of competitions, and I certainly didn’t consider that it might win anything. These days, though, a lot of people have an LPOTY file on their computer, and although I don’t think we should shoot specifically for competitions, anything that gets people – particularly youngsters – outside and taking pictures is a good thing.
‘I went numb when I got the phone call. I found my wife, Steph, who was hanging out the washing, and told her the news. She said, “That’s nice.” It brought me right back to earth!
‘ The prize money was a real shot in the arm and it gave me the confidence to open a photography gallery in Wells-next-the-Sea. My business partner Gareth and I had ten years there, but we recently made the decision to close it, so I now have a bit of time to think about what I’m going to do next.
‘ The biggest difference between winning then and now is social media. Not many remember me for winning the competition – which is fair enough – but I’d swap the money for the attention you now get on social media. It allows you to capitalise on the win in a way I couldn’t back then. It’s a little bittersweet, but at the end of the day, I won it – the first one – and that can never be taken away.’
www.jon-gibbs.co.uk
2012 Simon Butterworth, Biggar Condemned, Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland
‘My image of a tenement block was quite unusual for the competition at the time, as landscape photography was very much wideangle in those days (although it was only six years ago).
‘ When the results were announced, I received an email telling me it had won the Urban View category, which I was thrilled about. Then, a couple of weeks later, Charlie Waite phoned me. He told me the overall winning image had been disqualified, and that the judges had voted my picture as the winner. I was taken completely unawares, and it took about a week for it to sink in. I felt very sorry for David Byrne, who was eliminated. It was such a difficult situation, but he handled it with dignity.
‘My image, though, was massively unpopular. People on forums were discussing how awful it was, and I started to feel as if I didn’t deserve to win. However, when I went to the ceremony and saw the beautiful big print of my image, I was so proud. Out of all the pictures there, it was the only one I’d want to have taken. When the online comments dried up, I actually missed them!
‘It was a turning point for me. Winning with an unpopular image made me determined to plough my own furrow. In 2015, I had a series of images shortlisted in the Professional category of the Sony World Photography Awards. That and the LPOTY award have been the two most important events in terms of giving me the confidence to do my own thing.’
www.simonbutterworthphotography.com
2015 Andy Farrer, Swanage Bat’s Head, Dorset
‘I’d entered the competition three or four times before I won it. By chance, I was in Norway with Antony Spencer when his win was announced [in 2010], and I saw his inbox go ballistic. It was then that I understood what a big break it was in terms of putting him on the map – you can’t buy that sort of publicity.
‘I’d been entering competitions for a while, and they were a good way of benchmarking my progress. I’ve never shot specifically for a competition, though, because you can’t possibly second- guess what the judges will like and what else is on the table. You have to enter images you can stand next to, knowing you were happy with them.
‘I clearly remember taking my winning image. I’d started shooting in the opposite direction, towards Durdle Door, then I turned round and saw the lines that the sea was carving in the snow – I had to capture them before they were washed away. Needless to say, though, it was the “wow” shots of Durdle Door itself that got all the interaction on social media at the time.
‘ When the winners were announced, my Twitter account started to get a few tags at midnight, when subscribers to the digital version of The Sunday Times were seeing the results. Soon, though, everything went nuts – it was all a bit of a blur, and I almost felt like a spectator rather than the winner.
‘ The prize money helped me upgrade my camera gear. And the win added value to my workshops, as it gives clients confidence that they’re booking with someone who knows what he’s doing. When I won, I already had a large body of work, so people could see that I was an experienced photographer.
‘I was keen not to squander the opportunity – I knew I’d have to keep up the momentum and not be overshadowed by the next winner. I’m still busy and a couple of years on, my photography has matured, too. I also have a print studio in Swanage with a wide-format printer, and my business partner and I print for photographers. A lot of our clients are quite new to photography, so we help them with their prints, and often the conversations will lead to one-to- one workshops, so one area of the business filters into the other.
‘I don’t think any of these opportunities would have presented themselves without LPOTY. Everything aligned in that moment, and it’s quite surreal to look back on it and realise it was so decisive.’
‘I’ve never shot specifically for a competition, because you can’t possibly second-guess what the judges will like’