Enthusiasts outshone professional photographers in this year?s Wanderlust Photo of the Year contest, according to its organiser, Wanderlust magazine.
While four amateur photographers each won a photographic commission to Antarctica the top prize for a professional photographer was left unclaimed due to the lower than expected standard of entries, said judges.
?Entrants to the pro category were expected to submit five outstanding images,? said judge Steve Davey. ?In this instance? although each photographer?s portfolio featured some stunning pictures, they also included at least one weaker shot that let the others down,? he explained. ?Quite simply we felt that none of the portfolios truly fitted the brief and none of the five pictures blew us away completely.?
Wanderlust picture editor Amy Bellew added: ?The line between professional and amateur is definitely becoming blurred. It is not a case that professional standards are slipping but rather that amateur photographers are getting better and raising the bar.?
This year?s landscape category was won by database developer Adam Burton.
The wildlife title went to Glenda Skidmore who works as a print buyer.
Heating engineer Gerald Spice won the streetlife category with an image entitled Too many Cooks and David Dunning, a museum research fellow, claimed top spot in the People category.
For more details ? and to see more of the winning images ? keep an eye out for upcoming issues of AP, in shops each Tuesday.
Picture credit: Gerald Spice
