The search for the UK’s Landscape Photographer of the Year begins

Now in its fifth successful year, the Take a view – Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards is open for entries and you have until mid-July to upload your pictures for a chance to win £10,000. ‘Take a view’, the idea of renowned landscape photographer, Charlie Waite, is one of the nation’s most exciting photographic awards and the search for the 2011 winner is on.

Entrants have until 15th July to enter the 2011 Awards by submitting their photographs of the British landscape. The competition is open to everyone and, for the first time this year, you can enter up to 25 photographs across the four categories. There is an exciting prize fund worth £20,000, including £10,000 for the overall winner. There is also a special class for those under 16, so the whole family can get involved.

Successful entries from the 2010 Awards that were shot on film included Glenn Harper’s image of Stac Pollaidh and Suilven in Scotland (Mamiya RZ67 & Velvia 100F) and the Isle of Skye by Dimitri Vasiliou (Mamiya 67 Pro II & Velvia 50).

Unlike many other photographic competitions, ‘Take a view’ celebrates the United Kingdom only, offering photographers worldwide the opportunity to showcase their images of this richly diverse and unique country.

Now that spring has finally arrived and holidays are on the horizon, what better way to celebrate than to get outdoors with a camera and capture the surrounding landscape?  From deserted beaches to country towns and urban skylines, the UK’s landscapes are a perfect playground for even the most experienced photographer and with categories for urban and conceptual landscapes, as well as for more classical views, there is plenty of scope to fire your imagination.

The 2011 Awards are being held in association with Network Rail and there is a special section for photography of the British rail network – Lines in the Landscape.

David Higgins, Network Rail chief executive said, “Every day for over a century the railway has helped people travel across the length and breadth of Britain.  Those journeys can take people across spectacular structures, such as the Forth Bridge and Ribblehead viaduct, where people can experience truly amazing views of the countryside and our cities.

“Network Rail has the special duty of protecting and promoting this legacy as well as building a modern rail network for the 21st century. We are proud to continue to support this competition, and even more so to have a special award for the best photography of our rail network. Travelling by rail is becoming ever more popular, and we hope that, through this competition, even more people will recognise its beauty and importance in Britain today.”

Awards founder, Charlie Waite, said “Every year, I am overwhelmed by the positive response that the Awards receive; both from entrants and those who visit the exhibition. Everybody is photographing and I am convinced that these individual moments of creativity help us in our everyday lives. We are delighted that Network Rail are supporting us for the second year. Their special award for images of railways in the landscape certainly sparked an interest in 2010 and yielded some stunning results and we are very much looking forward to seeing this year’s entries.”

All entries to the award must be uploaded via the competition website, www.take-a-view.co.uk and the closing date is 15th July 2011. Entry fees apply. Full terms and conditions can be found on the site.

An exhibition of the winning and commended entries will premiere at the National Theatre in London from 5th December 2011 and all successful entries will also appear in a stunning book by AA Publishing.