Suffolk Coast & Heaths 40th Anniversary Photo Competition - WINNER!!...

I had one of those slightly surreal phone calls the other day - from Malcolm Farrow at the Suffolk Coasts & Heaths communications office. I was up a ladder at the time - the decorating police have finally caught up with me and insisted that the hall and landing get done, so the celebrations had to take into account that I was 20 feet above the floor. I had entered about six pictures in to the Suffolk Coasts & Heaths 40th Anniversary photo competition at the end of July - and then forgotten about them but Malcolm was phoning to say that I had actually won!! Gobsmacked!!

The winning picture was my shot of the River Deben at Waldringfield taken before the sun had come up over the horizon. It has mist and a thin line of cloud lit from underneath by the sun, which was then reflected in the still water of the river. I called it Sky Stripes and it was, in its turn, part of a surreal morning. Shortly after I had taken it and moved on to another part of the river to continue shooting, the sun hit the horizon, lit up the mist along the river and the orange line of the horizon itself - and someone on a boat in the moorings away to my right kicked off on the bagpipes! At 7:39am on a very frosty, misty morning in late October the riverbank was treated to a stirring rendition of "Scotland the Brave" and other Celtic highlights. I think I was the only member of the audience that morning - but I won't forget the experience in a hurry.

All of the winning prints will be featured in an exhibition being organised by Malcolm and his team from the 5th of October to the 14th of November. They'll all be on show at the Suffolk Food Hall at Wherstead between those dates, so if you're able - pop along and see the landscape, nature and 'My Suffolk' winners and runner up - and then buy some sausages...

Cheers

Graham