Picture credit: Martin Burrage
Martin Burrage, 65, used his Leica M to win the photography section of the Mervyn Peake Awards, which aims to celebrate the creativity of people with Parkinson’s.
Martin used a Leica 90mm Apo-Summicron Asph lens for his winning shot, ‘Two Red Balloons’, which he took in Seville, Spain, last December.
Martin, from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, told organisers: ‘I suppose creativity is about exploration. I mentally take a lot of pictures. I often think, “What photograph would I take here?”
‘I don’t always take the pictures, but it helps me to explore new things and see what might work.’
Martin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011 after becoming aware of a tremor in his right arm.
He added: ‘It means a great deal to me to keep active. Photography absorbs me, and when I’m absorbed my tremor seems to go away.’
To combat the tremor, Martin uses a monopod, a small tripod or a fast shutter speed.
‘I worry about my hand–eye co-ordination and whether I’ll be able to do all my photo-editing in the future, so winning is so important to me, and it is a great honour.
‘This kind of award keeps people going, and doing as much as they can.’
Martin attributes much of his success to friendships he has made at Welwyn Garden City Photographic Club – where he has been a member for more than six years – and to club activities.
