22 January 2021
We were delighted to receive more than 100 fantastic entries in Week 1 of our #PhotographersWold competition, which had the theme of landscapes. Photos came in from students, staff, parents and alumnae. Some came from Woldingham itself, others from as far away as Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.
Many thanks to our guest judge for this week, local artist Sophie Epperlein (@sophieepperlein), who thoroughly enjoyed getting “a glimpse of all your moments of peace and escapism from so many different places”. Sophie chose joint winners this week, one from the student entries and one from the alumnae, parent and staff entries:
Student winner: Smile, Year 10, whose photo is the main image in this article.
Adult winner: Ms Sue Jones, by complete coincidence Year 10 Housemistress, whose photo of Woldingham boarders in a snowy landscape you can see in the gallery below.
Sophie describes why she chose the winning photos and mentions some of her other favourite entries, which also feature in the photo gallery:
“When looking for a winner, as well as looking at composition, colour and creativity, I was drawn to images where I felt I was transported to that moment in time.
Many congratulations to Smile. This setting seems familiar yet rendered unfamiliar by the jagged angle of the twisting road. The colours evoke a warmth yet sombre feeling.
Congratulations also to Sue. I felt this photo’s stark contrast of the vast negative space compared to the small, dark cluster of figures in the middle, created an eerie beauty.
I’d also like to make a few more special mentions:
Alice, Year 7, for her beautifully composed forest photo
Lily-Mae, Year 8, for her landscape beyond the moment
Tina, Year 9, with the bellowing sky above the school building
Millie, Year 11, for the dazzling sky and water photo
Theodora, Lower Sixth, for her cityscape with intriguing pockets of light.”
The two winning photos will go through to the “grand final” at the end of the four weeks of competition.
Don’t forget that this week’s competition theme is “Sun & Light”. Please email your entries to toulsons@woldinghamschool.co.uk by 4pm GMT on Wednesday 27 January. We can’t wait to see them.
