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‘Big Night Out’ photo is grand winner at Kendal Mountain Festival

Written by Fiona

November 22 2017

The Grand Prize Winner has been revealed for the  Kendal Mountain Festival Photography Competition 2017. 

The awards ceremony, presented by Danner footwear, was held on November 18, saw six category winners that were then judged for the  Grand Prize.

The 2017 category winners were:

• ‘The Pitch’ by Mark Burkey – Adventure in the Outdoors (winner of the People’s Choice Award, too.)

• ‘Honey in the Snow’ by David Thexton – Fido on the Fells

• ‘Big Night Out’ by James Appleton – Mountain Landscapes

• ‘Running High’ by Natalie White – Smartphone – Friends in High Places

• ‘Southampton Docks’ by Joe McCarthy – Urban Outdoors

• ‘Birds Eye View’ by Charlotte Howie – Young Photographer under 18 – Adventure on your Doorstep.

Bird’s Eye View.

Southampton Docks.

The Pitch, which won the People’s Choice Award.

Honey in the Snow

Running High.

Kendal fest grand prize winner

The Grand Prize was won by photographer James Appleton for his entry Big Night Out, taken at the Svínafellsjökull Glacier in Iceland. James said the shot took him five years to capture.

He said: “I’d first visited this particular glacier in 2008, but it wasn’t until a few years later I had the experience to get up on the ice and really explore the scale of it.

“The views looking up towards Iceland’s highest peaks from on the ice are incredible, and I had an instant desire to photograph the scene at night, with an aurora display powerful enough to match the mountains.

“After many failed attempts due to weather or poor solar wind conditions, in 2016 it finally all came together and I got the right conditions. I’m delighted that it has been recognised with the grand prize at Kendal.”

James won a two-night, half-board stay for two at Danner’s Partner Hotel, the luxurious Huus Hotel in Switzerland, plus two pairs of Danner boots.

Henry Iddon, Arts and Culture Officer for Kendal Mountain Festival, and judging panel member, said the number of entries was impressive.

He said: “We were delighted with the response to our call for entries to this year’s photography competition. The standard was high and the images reflected a wide range of activities and locations, which was fantastic.

“Any of the shortlisted images could have won the Grand Prize – but we had to choose a winner and James’s image had an ethereal nature to it that made you yearn to be in the outdoors.”

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