Each year, the Landscape Photographer of the Year awards celebrate the best images of the British countryside. Our selection from this year’s winners captures the beauty of the land during the colder months
CLASSIC VIEW, COMMENDED
SNOWY PEAKS
“Taken in early December 2021 in the Peak District, this shows Park House and Chrome Hills from the summit of Hitter Hill just before the light disappeared. I’d been here before so knew where to go to get this composition. I’d hoped for the setting sun to reflect off the distant clouds – but more cloud on the horizon covered the sun at the wrong time, so that didn’t happen. It was blowing a gale, so I took this on my tripod, placing my body between the camera and the gusty wind.”
CLASSIC VIEW, COMMENDED
WAST WATER RAINBOW
“This beautiful 180° rainbow appeared over Wastwater in the Lake District at the end of a rainy afternoon.”
CLASSIC VIEW, COMMENDED
WINTER AT WIN GREEN
“I am struggling to put into words how truly breathtaking this sunrise was… I have never witnessed such magical conditions. All the branches were left frozen in time, covered in frost as the rising sun bathed a soft golden glow to the right side of the image, with the cold blues hiding in the shadows to the left – areal battle between cold and warm.”
YOUR VIEW, COMMENDED
MISTY WOOD
“This is a view of some trees on a cold, misty day in Macclesfield Forest. I like the shape of the trunks and branches curving over to the right due to years of wind, and the path leading you through the frame. The yellows and greens of the moss on the trees were very intense, and for me detracted from the calm wintriness of the scene. I therefore took out all colour except for orange, which picks out the fallen leaves.”
CLASSIC VIEW, COMMENDED
TRYFAN
“A photo of the iconic Tryfan in Snowdonia National Park. I wanted to get the rays of the setting sun on the peaks of the mountain. I had to scramble up as fast as I could to this spot to catch the light before it disappeared!”
YOUR VIEW, COMMENDED
LAST LIGHT, AS THE CLOUD ROLLS IN
“After sunset, I noticed the sky behind Beinn na Caillich glowing with colour, and some low cloud clinging to the peak and ridge beyond. I set up my camera with a 70–200mm lens, and started to frame-up a tight composition to capture this serene scene, using a 15-second exposure to blur the cloud rolling around the peak and distant ridge.”
YOUR VIEW, COMMENDED
WILD ELGOL
“I set my tripod up on the beach. It was raining, the wind was strong and the spray meant I could only have the camera out for a very short time. I set a composition; by the time I’d fired off one shot there was spray on the lens so I had to take one clean file for the cuillins and a wave and another for the foreground, blending together in post. To capture this on such a wild day was amazing.”
COAST, COMMENDED
PORLOCK SKELETON
“Spring high tide flooding the salt marsh at Porlock Weir. Until 1996, this area was protected by the shingle bar you see on the horizon of this shot, but when the bank was breached by a storm, a permanent gap was created, and the salt marsh was born. Several skeleton trees have resulted – and at slack water, the reflection is almost perfect!”
CLASSIC VIEW, HIGHLY COMMENDED
THE BROTH
“This image was taken on a foggy morning in Richmond Park, London. I waited until just after sunrise to allow the sunlight to stream through the trees; I used a long lens and waded into the brook to minimise distractions in my composition. Living in London, I found it gratifying to find a landscape image I was so fond of close to home.”
CLASSIC VIEW, COMMENDED
BALMER DOWN
“A wonderful morning at Balmer Down, looking across a slice of East Sussex countryside towards Firle Beacon, lying at the top of the South Downs as the light slowly crept across the landscape.”
YOUR VIEW, COMMENDED
MUSHROOMS AND WOOD SORREL
“Deep within the mysterious forest lies a secret, a secret of the most fantastical place where strange creatures of fairytales roam the land. We wandered over the mossy ground and noticed this amazing log covered in sacred mushrooms and wood sorrel. Legend has it that if you eat them, you will roam the forest, free to wander forever.”
OVERALL WINNER
BRECON IN WINTER
“Dawn sunlight warms a winter’s morning in the Brecon Beacons. This image was taken from the Pen-y-Crug hillfort, which provides a spectacular panorama of Brecon and the surrounding mountains. This December morning, sunlight broke through a clearing snowstorm, adding a wonderful burst of warmth and colour to the scene. I used a telephoto lens to compress the sunlit fields and distant snowy hills.”
Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 15
by Charlie Waites (Ilex Press, £35) features the winners of the prestigious awards and celebrates their outstanding photography of Britain, from rural views to urban scenes.
Beautiful Britain
Enjoy more spectacular images from the Landscape Photographer of the Year awards on Countryfile.com