Winning images from the inaugural 'Captured at Calke' photo competition The International Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) has announced the results for its inaugural IGPOTY National Trust Calke Abbey special photo competition, ‘Captured at Calke.
’ What’s unique about this free-to-enter photo competition is that all images were captured at Calke Abbey, a country house estate near Ticknall, Derbyshirt, England.
Calke Abbey is believed to have been founded as an Augustinian priory by Richard d’Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester sometime between 1115 and 1120. Over the centuries, it exchanged hands multiple times, with each new owner adding their own touch to the historic venue. Since 1985, Calke Abbey has been held by the National Trust, who now presents it as an historic English country house and maintains the surrounding landscape park, from which all of these images were taken in.
In its prompt to photographers for the competition, IGPOTY told photographers to ‘Look for recognisable scenes of Calke from the garden which reinforce the wider context of the gardens with flair and originality’ and to ‘Avoid out-of-context macro shots of plants. ’
The first place winner is Anne Haile of the United Kingdom for their image ‘The Orangery. ’ Haile says she ‘used a wide-angle lens to enhance the perspective and lead the eye through the building,’ which features fauna alongside path flanked by large windows and a glass dome. Haile also took home second place for her image ‘The Green Door,’ while Elaine Cox grabbed third for her image ‘Shadows,’ which is black and white photograph from the same room Haile’s ‘The Orangery’ photograph was taken.
The following gallery presents the first through third place winners as well as four finalists, two highly commended and three commended images.
Anne Haile
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: Looking into The Orangery at Calke Abbey (circa 1777), the sun streamed through the tall windows and glass dome - creating long shadows. I used a wide-angle lens to enhance the perspective and lead the eye through the building.
Gear used: Nikon Z7, Nikon 14-30mm lens, 1/800sec at f/4, ISO 100. Post-capture: use of crop tool, applied vignette, basic image management.
Anne Haile
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: A weathered, green door built into the wall of The Kitchen Garden at Calke Abbey is ajar, on this side of the door are borders of summer annuals - a mix of native and exotics, which created a complementary juxtaposition.
Gear used: Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm lens, 1/250sec at f/5. 6, ISO 90. Post-capture: use of crop tool, basic image management.
Elaine Cox — 3rd Place — Shadows
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: I visited Calke Abbey on a very hot, sunny day and the shadows cast through the large glass windows of The Orangery were so striking, particularly from a low view point; and they lead the eye through the photo to the far door.
Gear used: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Sigma 18-300mm lens, 1/500sec at f/8, ISO 200. Post-capture: applied sepia filter and Nik Dfine, basic RAW image management in Adobe Lightroom.
Anne Haile — Finalists — A Nice Place to Sit
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: Looking through The Orangery window at Calke Abbey, I noticed a lovely place to sit - surrounded by plants in terracotta pots.
Gear used: Nikon Z7, Nikon 24-70mm lens, 1/100sec at f/4, ISO 100. Post-capture: use of crop and contrast tools, applied vignette, basic image management.
Elaine Cox — Finalist — Abundance
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: The scarecrow was certainly doing its job well, as the vegetable beds were in an abundance of health; the planting of Tropaeolum (nasturtiums) between the rows of Brassica species added bright colour and contrast.
Gear used: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Sigma 18-300mm lens, 1/250sec at f/8, ISO 200. Post-capture: applied Nik Dfine, basic RAW image management in Adobe Lightroom.
Elaine Cox — Finalist — Faded Glory
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: I loved the contrast of the exotic planting against the peeling, and faded paintwork and brickwork; captured inside Calke Abbey’s Orangery.
Gear used: Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Sigma 18-300mm lens, 1/50sec at f/8, ISO 200. Post-capture: applied Nik Dfine, basic RAW image management in Adobe Lightroom.
Nickola Beck — Finalist — By the Glasshouse
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: Walking around the Flower Garden, tucked away at one side of the glasshouse, I found this gorgeous pink rose. The colour of the rose caught my eye against the old red brickwork and the peeling, cracked paint of the old glasshouse windows - with their dusty glass and view through to the ferns.
Gear used: Nikon D7200, Nikon 18-55mm lens, 1/400sec at f/10, ISO 800. Post-capture: use of crop tool.
Carolyn Haslam — Highly Commended — Behind the Scenes
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: The soft colours of the brickwork and the layers of tree foliage drew me to this shot; a very tranquil, restful scene, which I feel tells the story of Calke Abbey.
Gear used: Nikon D750, Nikon 85mm lens, 1/100sec at f/11, ISO 200. Post-capture: basic RAW image management in Adobe Lightroom.
Carolyn Haslam — Highly Commended — Shadows Abound Around the Orangery
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: By converting the photograph to monochrome seemed to show off the cloud structure and emphasise the contrasting shadows being cast by the bright sun on the windows.
Gear used: Nikon D750, Nikon 24-70mm lens, 1/320sec at f/11, ISO 100. Post-capture: converted to black and white, basic RAW image management in Adobe Lightroom.
Anne Haile — Commended — The Wisteria Arch
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: Looking towards a gateway in the gardens of Calke Abbey; the archway and surrounding walls are covered with Wisteria flowers.
Gear used: Nikon Z7, Nikon 50mm lens, 1/160sec at f/8, ISO 160. Post-capture: use of crop tool, basic image management.
Anne Haile — Commended — The Fig Door
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: A closed, green door at Calke Abbey is flanked by mature fig trees and the scene is framed by colourful potted pansies.
Gear used: Nikon Z7, Nikon 50mm lens, 1/160sec at f/8, ISO 280. Post-capture: use of crop tool, applied vignette, basic image management.
Carolyn Haslam — Highly Commended — Between the Palm Trees
Location: National Trust Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom
About this photo: The palm trees with their two-tone foliage added a real splash of colour framing the greenhouse in the distance, and the colourful flowerbeds brought the picture to life.
Gear used: Nikon D750, Nikon 24-70mm lens, 1/60sec at f/11, ISO 200. Post-capture: basic RAW image management in Adobe Lightroom.
. dpreview.com2021-8-31 19:19