Today Exmoor Society announced the winners of their biennual Alfred Vowles Photographic Competition, where they celebrate the skill of local amateur photographers capturing the essence of Exmoor. People were invited to enter for anyone of 3 categories: Landscape,
Wildlife, and Heritage.
The overall winner was Keith W Hann with an amusing photograph in the Wildlife category ‘Please tickle my chin’, showing an Exmoor pony scratching its jaw on a fingerpost. The judges were impressed by its composition, especially the unusual pose, which showed Mr Hann’s empathy with the pony: ‘The photographer must have been very patient for the animal to be so relaxed.’
The Heritage category winner was Jenny Gibson for her ‘Conygar Tower, Dunster’, an excellently observed view where light and shade are most effectively used.
Madeline Taylor was the winner of the Landscape category with her photograph of ‘Oare church in the snow’, a tranquil, well-composed scene drawing the eye into a timeless image.
Alfred Vowles was a well-known photographer devoted his life to recording the scenery, life and people of Exmoor from the turn of the 20th century until the 1940s. His early work is said by experts to have influenced the direction of photography not only as an important record of the time but also as an art form in its own right. He is regarded as synonymous with the imagery of Exmoor as R D Blackmore’s Lorna Doone is to its literature.
A display of the photographs can be seen at The Exmoor Society headquarters in Dulverton (open between 10 am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday). Next month, The Exmoor Society have their Society Spring Conference (22nd April 10 am – 3.30 pm at Dulverton Town Hall) on the subject of – Exmoor’s Future Landscapes.
Exmoor Views 