Picture perfect scenes on the South Downs
An ethereal dawn, an evening harvest and a very cold cow are the winning photographs in the South Downs National Park picture competition.
Early morning light casts shadows across an autumn mist in Lorraine Heaysman’s winning image and Lorraine, from Worthing, wins £250, for her picture ‘Autumn gold’ taken from the hills above Upwaltham.
Second prize goes to Dominic Vacher for ‘Race against time’, taken from Tegdown Hill north of Brighton during last summer’s heatwave.
The last light hits the dust of a farmer racing to bring his harvest home. Dominic, from Brighton, wins £150.
Third prize has been won by Clive Blott for his showstopping portrait of a cow taken on a very cold January morning near Midhurst. Clive, from Easebourne, has won £50 for his photo ‘Freshly frozen’.
Winner Lorraine said: “Moments like these on a hill top are filled with beauty, peace and tranquillity and my heart skips a beat whenever I walk along the downs and see scenes like this.”
Second prize winner Dominic Vacher said: “There had been a long hot and dry spell for weeks but the forecast predicted a dramatic change with stormy weather imminent. The farmer was clearly taking heed and working frantically to get his crops harvested.”
Third prize winner Clive Blott said: “I was walking our dog in the snow and found these cows sheltering under the trees. There had been a lot of snow that week – great fun for those, like me, that didn’t have to travel to work and the perfect opportunity for me to walk everywhere with my camera close at hand.
The three winning images together with three highly commended images will now go forward for the people’s choice vote with a prize of £100.
These are ‘Amongst the beech trees’ by Jonathan Peacock, from Pulborough, ‘Winter on Butser’ by Ron De’Ath, from Rowlands Castle, and ‘Coastguard Cottages at sunrise’ by Zoltan Kecskes, from Eastbourne.
See all the photos and vote for your favourite at www. southdowns.gov.uk/votefavourite-photo/