2019 National Trust photography competition

This year we asked for entries on the theme ‘Our space to explore’. The winning photos needed to show a connection to nature, reflecting the work that we do to care for special outdoor places.   

One photo was chosen to grace the cover of the annual Handbook, which helps members and visitors plan days out at the 500 historic houses and gardens and 250,000 hectares of coast and countryside we care for, and one for the member card. 

Entries to the competition ranged from mist-cloaked valleys in the Peak District to carpets of heather on the Cornish cliffs. 

Winning Handbook image

Ed Silvester’s action shot of his young son bounding over the rocks at Prawle Point in South Devon was selected as the winning image in the Handbook category.

Ed said: 'We’d driven down from London for an Easter break in Devon. Prawle Point was our morning and evening playground. The kids would explore the rock pools and splash in puddles, doing all the things kids do when they’re not distracted by their phones.' 

'I was photographing the sunset one evening when my 10-year-old son Adam came bounding into the frame. I like that he’s got his boots on, he’s not looking at a screen – he’s just jumping over the rocks. For me it captures the essence of what childhood is about.'

Landscape photographer Paul Harris, who helped judge the competition, said: 'This image has so much vitality both in the subject and in the way it makes you feel. Colour, energy and a sense of adventure all combine to allow the viewer in.'

Ania Hutchison’s bright composition of a summer’s day in the rolling Surrey hills was selected as the runner-up. 

Winning member card image

Brian Terrey took the top spot in the member card category, with an atmospheric image of the sun rising over Corfe Castle in Dorset.

Brian said: 'That morning I climbed the hill to the west of Corfe, hoping for a break in the clouds. You never know what the weather is going to be like up there, it’s so unpredictable. Luckily the sun burst through and everything came together – the sky, the mist, the atmosphere.' 

'Corfe is one of those enchanting places that I’ll never get bored of. I used to visit as a child and roll down the grass banks around the castle. Now I take my six year old boy. It’s somewhere I’ve grown up with and somewhere I’ll always come back to.'

Judges commended the mystery and sense of place in Brian's landscape. Paul Harris said: 'The photographer has managed to capture beautifully one of the many moods often seen swirling around this iconic piece of English heritage.'

Edyta Rice’s otherworldly composition of jagged rocks against a pink sky at Hartland in Devon was selected as the runner-up.

The judging panel

Five judges had the difficult task of whittling down an exceptional shortlist to just two winners. They were:

• Sharon Pickford – Director of Support and Revenue, National Trust (lead judge)
• Alan Titchmarsh – Gardener, writer and broadcaster; presenter of Secrets of the National Trust on Channel 5
• Craig Robson – Senior Design and Visual Identity Manager, National Trust
• Paul Harris – Professional travel and landscape photographer
• Damon Statt – Creative Director at Mischief PR

The competition was sponsored by Panasonic LUMIX, with the winning and runner-up photographers each receiving a Panasonic LUMIX camera. The firm is a corporate partner of the National Trust, providing photographic equipment and expertise to the charity’s staff and volunteers.