Congratulations to Ian Whiston who won the Jim Harrison Trophy for the overall winner of our Annual PDI Competition. His outstanding image ‘Cape Buffalo with Oxpeckers’ was a clear winner for highly qualified judge Christine Widdall MPAGB EFIAP FBPE APAGB HonLCPU. She liked the clear detail and triangular composition the birds made. Christine told us that the overall standard of our work was excellent, especially in the nature section. Ian not only took the coveted trophy, but also came second and third in the nature section with his ‘Cheetah with Siblings’ and ‘Hyena Holding Bone for Cub’. All of Ian’s successful African images are based on is deep knowledge of the subject and his photographic expertise. I’ve lost count of how many gold medals he has. Wallace Baxter’s ‘Egret Feeding’, Peter Robinson’s ‘Playful Orangutan’ and Keith Mulliner’s ‘Barn Owl in Snow’ were all Highly Commended.
In the Colour general section, Peter Robinson took the honours with his ‘Polocrosse Action’. Christine admitted she’d never heard of polocrosse before, but found it a fascinating combination of the two sports. She liked the action, facial expressions and interaction of the players. Stephen Coyne’s atmospheric ‘Going Down’ came second. Christine liked its simple triangular composition and colour pallet and the story it told. Wallace Baxter’s gymnastic photograph ‘I’m going to miss’ came third. Christine thought it was well timed and liked the lady’s expression. She added it was a strong image which was well processed. The six Highly Commended PDIs were Ray Hill’s Menacing Look’, Wallace Baxter’s ‘Agony’, Peter Robinson’s ‘Splash Dash’ and ‘Green’s Goal’, Stephen Coyne’s Midland Stairway’ and ‘Shinto Shine’.
Christine told us that while she enjoyed seeing our images, the monochrome wasn’t up to the standard of the other sections. However, it was won by Wallace Baxter’s excellent monochrome conversion ‘Pummel Horse Expert’. Christine thought it was well timed and and the liked the gymnast’s expression. Another of Peter Robinson’s photos taken at the Cheshire Polo ground came second. Christine liked the monochrome conversion and action of ‘Polo Race’ which show the players racing for the ball. Stephen Coyne’s natural portrait ‘Ready to Saddle Up’ came third. Christine liked the triangular composition, tonal range and eye contact. The two images which were Highly Commended are Wallace Baxter’s muddy run ‘Come and get some’ and Stephen Coyne’s close-up portrait ‘Tired of War’.
See all the images that won an award above. All the results can be seen on our Results page here.