A dramatic picture of a lifeguard battling through surf off the Cornish coast has clinched the RNLI Pentax Photographer of the Year (2007) title.
Captured by Cornish lifeguard Bobby Renaud, the image was taken on Trevarnon beach during a training exercise last summer.
The competition results were announced today on the opening day of the London Boat Show.
Pentax UK?s managing director David Moore described Renaud?s winning shot as ?striking?.
The annual contest is open to RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew members and lifeguards who document the work of the lifesaving charity.
All RNLI lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland have been equipped with digital waterproof Pentax cameras ? as have lifeguards on 71 beaches in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and North Norfolk ? in order to document rescue and training exercises.
RNLI chief executive Andrew Freemantle explained that this technology plays a vital role in training lifeboat crews and lifeguards.
?Real-time, high-quality digital images of the life-saving work of our volunteers are not only crucial to operations, they raise public awareness of the charity,? Freemantle said.
