Get creative with Compose Carsington

Last modified: 11 September 2009

Fields of gold - Sarah Middleton

The RSPB and Severn Trent Water are proud to announce the winners of the first Compose Carsington photography competition. The standard of entries was very good and next year's competition promises to be even better.

Carsington Water is a 300-hectare reservoir situated in rural Derbyshire. As Severn Trent Water's leading public access site, it's ideal for seeing a huge diversity of wild birds, mammals and flowers.

The competition's sponsors are Carsington Bird Club, Derbyshire Ornithological Society, Severn Trent Water, Carsington Reservoir Fund, Jessops, London Camera Exchange and the RSPB.

Helping to judge the entries was former Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Ben Osborne, Victoria Wilcox, picture editor of the Derby Evening Telegraph and Ben Young, Site Manager at Carsington Water. Together, the panel were looking for original ideas, not necessarily rare or elusive species. Creative entries will be very important in all categories.

Winners

Birds and Wildlife – Sarah Middleton - Preening Swan
Flora – Sarah Middleton - Fields of Gold
Landscapes – Peter Roberts - Buttercup Meadow
Water – Karen Purdy - Stones Island Shore

The overall winner was Sarah Middleton with her picture of a preening swan.

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who entered. The standard of entries was very good and next year's competition promises to be even better. The winning prints and a selection of other entrants' photographs will be displayed at Carsington Water soon and prizes will be sent out within 21 days.

IMPORTANT - Would winners please email or post a CD with the selected image to one of the addresses below to be prepared for exhibition. The original file, for example a RAW or JPEG, would be ideal in order to print at maximum resolution. Please email Chris Johnstone with any questions.

Please post your winning picture to Chris Johnstone, Severn Trent Water Ltd., Carsington Water Visitors Centre, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 1ST or email it to chris.johnstone@rspb.org.uk.