We’re pleased to announce the winners of the UK section of the world’s biggest photo contest Wiki Loves Monuments. This year the judges have awarded first prize to this stunning image of Gloucester Cathedral cloisters taken by Christopher JT Cherrington.
Chris has written a short blog post explaining how he took his winning image.
UK winners
Click the title for access to more details and high resolution copies on Wikimedia Commons.
1st: The Cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral
The judges noted the beautiful symmetrical two-way view along the intricately detailed cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral. The light within this interior space has been well controlled and camera settings used have preserved a huge amount of detail for our eyes to feast upon. A worthy winner of the UK competition.
2nd: Sunrise at West Pier (Brighton)
A very calm and serene image of Brighton’s West Pier at dawn came second in this years competition. The judges loved its clean and smooth graduations and the soft pre-dawn colours. A highly accomplished long exposure which is not only stunning in its viewpoint and technical clarity, but also in the way it generates an emotional response with the juxtaposition of a beautiful dawn and a derelict site.
3rd: Hardknott Roman Fort (Cumbria)
This is a brilliant use of a drone for the way it opens up new ways of seeing a location. The judges loved the fact that the image shows the fortifications in their entirety, occupying the strategic high ground, and includes the drama of the landscape that surrounds it.
Highly commended
Farnborough Portable Airship Hangar at Sunset
Best image from England
1st: The Cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral
2nd: Sunrise at West Pier (Brighton)
3rd: Hardknott Roman Fort (Cumbria)
Best image from Scotland
2nd: Wemyss Bay railway station concourse
3rd: Bass rock lighthouse
Best image from Wales
1st: Dinefwr castle at sunrise
Using a drone does not necessarily produce an interesting picture. It still requires a photographer’s eye, and an ability to overcome the technical limitations of many standard drone cameras to produce an engaging image. The judges chose this photograph of Dinefwr Castle in Carmarthenshire (a castle of the Welsh Princes, rather than a Norman castle) which manages to combine a visually exciting viewpoint with straightforward digital darkroom techniques to produce a striking and beautifully atmospheric picture.
2nd: Carreg Cennen Castle
The ruin of Carreg Cennen Castle and its physical context is captured beautifully – the hazy, tranquil essence of the area, and the dramatic, menacing presence of the castle itself. The site, a few miles from Llandeilo, has a very long history, but is associated mainly with the castle built here by the Welsh Princes of the Deheubarth, and later the Normans.
3rd: Paxton’s Tower
This photograph of Paxton’s Tower is an example of an honest, pleasing-to-the-eye representation of a folly in Carmarthenshire. The photograph begs so many questions – who built it, why? Why is it placed so prominently on top of a hill? A little delving reveals a complicated historical web, taking in Scotland, entrepreneurship, empire building, exploitation, social climbing, war, political spite, philanthropy and much more.
No award was made in the Best image from Northern Ireland category.
Special prize
The most prolific photographer of “new” UK historic sites was Paul the Archivist, who uploaded more than 200 pictures of sites which hadn’t previously been represented in the database.
Shortlisted images
For the complete list of all the shortlisted images, as well as access to high-resolution copies, see the winners’ page on Wikimedia Commons.