The Winner of The Great British Photograph 2010 is...

The Winner of The Great British Photograph 2010 is...Enlarge this image

After many hours of deliberation of looking at thousands of truly wonderful photographs, we are now pleased to announce the overall winner of The Great British Photograph competition.

Chris Mole from mid Sussex is the proud winner of £5,000 for his stunning photograph of ‘Swimming in December, Sussex'.

We would like to say a huge ‘Thank You’ to everyone that has participated in this competition. All of the judges were truly outstanded by the fantastic photographs that were submitted.

The Local Winners from the competition can be seen by clicking here


Chris MoleEnlarge this image

Chris Mole's Winning interview can be read by scrolling below.

Interview with Chris Mole, winner, Great British Photograph competition 
How do you feel now you’ve won? 
“Winning this competition is definitely inspirational. Often you enter these sorts of competitions up against hundreds of thousands of other great images, so I feel very lucky to have won on this occasion. 
How and why did you take this picture? 
The picture was taken in December 2009. I am a big fan of Brighton especially out of season. It is much more interesting and different then. Everyday you get a different combination of elements and on this day I got lucky because of a particular combination of elements. I went down on that particular day because I knew the weather was going to be a bit rough and the coast always looks spectacular then. I was drawn to this spot because it had the makings of a great winter landscape – the great colours and converging lines of the sea. Next to the pier you are going to get interesting lines and angles. 
At this point on the beach, it shelves quite steeply so when the water runs back, you get a good white effect in the foreground, but you have to be happy to get your feet wet because you want to be near to where the water is rushing through. The silhouettes of the swimmers added an element of human interest element to it. On the one hand you have great admiration for anyone that will go swimming in December and then there’s a little puzzle about what the figures in the background are doing. It transpires that they are members of Brighton Swimming Club and this is the ritual at the end of the swim of trying to push each other back into the water. This is what you can see them doing. 
How long have you been into photography?
I have been interested in photography since a teenager. I have always enjoyed taking pictures. The advent of digital makes it much easier to do as a hobby and experiment. You can in control of the image without having to mess around with chemicals in the dark. I use a Canon EOS 7D with a 10-22mm wide angle lens. This is the standard lens I use, especially for landscapes. I took this picture with this set-up. 
Photography is a weekend hobby so I generally shoot whatever is around. Ashdown Forest is close, which is great. We are also close to the Downs. I often go to London to take street photography. It’s whatever is there, so mostly landscapes, street scenes, a little bit of sport maybe. Last year I went along to photograph the Brighton Marathon.
What will you do with the prize? 
I am not going to do anything really exciting with the prize except pay a few bills. That’s the mundane truth of it. I really like the kit I use and I am not really interested in kit for kit’s sake. I want a decent camera such as the 7D to be able to do what I want to do.
Chris Mole, 50, lives in mid Sussex near Hayward’s Heath with his wife. He has two sons aged 17 and 21, who are both also interested in photography. When not shooting, he works for an IT company based in London.
ENDS 

Interview with Chris Mole, winner, Great British Photograph competition 
How do you feel now you’ve won? 
“Winning this competition is definitely inspirational. Often you enter these sorts of competitions up against hundreds of thousands of other great images, so I feel very lucky to have won on this occasion. 


How and why did you take this picture? 
The picture was taken in December 2009. I am a big fan of Brighton especially out of season. It is much more interesting and different then. Everyday you get a different combination of elements and on this day I got lucky because of a particular combination of elements. I went down on that particular day because I knew the weather was going to be a bit rough and the coast always looks spectacular then. I was drawn to this spot because it had the makings of a great winter landscape – the great colours and converging lines of the sea. Next to the pier you are going to get interesting lines and angles. 


At this point on the beach, it shelves quite steeply so when the water runs back, you get a good white effect in the foreground, but you have to be happy to get your feet wet because you want to be near to where the water is rushing through. The silhouettes of the swimmers added an element of human interest element to it. On the one hand you have great admiration for anyone that will go swimming in December and then there’s a little puzzle about what the figures in the background are doing. It transpires that they are members of Brighton Swimming Club and this is the ritual at the end of the swim of trying to push each other back into the water. This is what you can see them doing. 


How long have you been into photography?
I have been interested in photography since a teenager. I have always enjoyed taking pictures. The advent of digital makes it much easier to do as a hobby and experiment. You can in control of the image without having to mess around with chemicals in the dark. I use a Canon EOS 7D with a 10-22mm wide angle lens. This is the standard lens I use, especially for landscapes. I took this picture with this set-up. 


Photography is a weekend hobby so I generally shoot whatever is around. Ashdown Forest is close, which is great. We are also close to the Downs. I often go to London to take street photography. It’s whatever is there, so mostly landscapes, street scenes, a little bit of sport maybe. Last year I went along to photograph the Brighton Marathon.


Swimming in DecemberEnlarge this image

What will you do with the prize? 
I am not going to do anything really exciting with the prize except pay a few bills. That’s the mundane truth of it. I really like the kit I use and I am not really interested in kit for kit’s sake. I want a decent camera such as the 7D to be able to do what I want to do.


Chris Mole, 50, lives in mid Sussex near Hayward’s Heath with his wife. He has two sons aged 17 and 21, who are both also interested in photography. When not shooting, he works for an IT company based in London.

News
We hope to bring you another fantastic photographic competition later in the year. In the mean time, we have a winter photography competition running. Simply upload your winter related photographs to be in with the chance of winning a Digital SLR Camera. Click here to enter

This article was brought to you by Great British Life

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