SNPA 2019 Winners

It’s that time of year again for the SNPA’s annual competition winners, and this time Ruth Grindrod takes the top spot and claims the title of overall winner. 

Ruth said: “I am more than delighted to win Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2019. It is a great honour to be selected and I thank all the judges for their time and effort particularly during this most difficult time of the Coronavirus pandemic. I have often said that this is one of my favourite competitions because it is so well run and organised which makes my selection as overall winner even more gratifying.

“My particular love in terms of photography has always been the sea and coast, regardless of the weather and the conditions. My journey to Scotland is always a long one as I live in Norfolk but I never fail to be excited by some of the best landscapes and seascapes in the world. When life returns to normal I will certainly be back shooting in Scotland.

“My winning entry Three Rocks, was taken on an extremely windy day at the Butt of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Rather than shoot the lighthouse, I chose the formation of these three rocks from a slightly elevated position to capture their shape and form as well as the churning seas. The conditions were tough but persistence paid off with this final capture.”

Judge Niall Irvine commented: “Ruth’s image has beautifully captured the drama and power of the sea. The light, composition and depth of detail in the image is remarkable, particularly the movement caught in the water.

Max Eve (Age 14) won the junior category with his striking black and white image of Glen Etive. 

Max said: “I am delighted to have won Junior Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year. I really enjoy spending time in and being inspired by the natural environment of Scotland.

“Torrential rain had occurred all day, limiting photographic opportunities. A sudden break in the weather allowed me to take this image of water escaping off the mountainside to the swollen stream below.”

Judge Jamie Grant said: “Max’s Glen Etive image focuses on a less well-known but pleasing aspect of this location. The tonal quality of the black and white impressed the judges.”

Stephen Rodger from HND Professional Photography at Edinburgh College was crowned the Student winner with this set of three images titled ‘Gulls in the Clouds’.

Stephen said: “Having never won a photographic competition before we can rest assured that being named Student Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2019 is a very exciting moment for me. I’m in my second year at Edinburgh College finishing my HND and hoping to progress on to the BA Photography course. The lecturers at the college are a gloriously idiosyncratic, passionate and supportive bunch who have helped me develop as a photographer over the last two years.

“Visual shapes of all varieties have always appealed, and so the title of Patterns for this category was immediately attractive. As part of my college work, I was shooting an environmental series over a number of months and watching it develop. I was initially focused on the oil refinery at Grangemouth and while I was there I noticed over time that the gulls would use the hot air thermals above the site to gain altitude before flying out over the Forth Estuary. Canny birds. On cold mornings the water vapour from the cooling towers would condense quickly into intense swirling clouds, side lit, high in the sky. This series of three pictures was shot on one of these mornings and converted to black and white in post production.”

Judge Ron McCombe said: “The judges were impressed with this fine portfolio. Simple yet effective, a collection of cloud formations with the added interest of seagulls flying in each image. The composition works very well in black and white which makes this collection a very strong portfolio.”

Edinburgh College Broadcast Media and Photography lecturer Graham McGirk said: ”We are delighted that Stephen has been so successful in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards. Stephen came to us as a mature student and enthusiastically threw himself into all aspects of the coursework. He has always been a most receptive student and an inspirational member of our student community. Nature photography is his passion and that it clearly shown in the excellent quality of his work.”

Sophie Bestwick took the winning spot for Scottish Nature Video Award 2019. 

Sophie said: ”“I’m so happy to have won the Scottish Nature Video Award! It was such a lovely phone call to receive, especially in such strange and unpredictable times.

“The Cairngorms is my favourite place to visit in the UK and I’m so glad that my video showing its iconic red squirrels has been so well received! It was a pleasure to make as part of my degree in Marine and Natural History Photography and I hope it shows people how rewilding can be used to improve and support this beautiful part of the world!”

Judge Niall Irvine said: “Sophie’s film shows fantastic close-up details of the red squirrel, and invites you into its busy world. A worthy winner.”