Port of Tyne’s Reflect award winners announced

Sep 19 2009 by Lisa Hutchinson, The Journal

THESE stunning shots have won their creators a place in a competition designed to show the best of the North East.

Photographers from around the region took part in the third annual Reflect Awards, which are run by the Port of Tyne to tap into the creative pulse of the region.

The winners picked up their awards at Gateshead’s Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, where their outstanding works are now on display.

For the past six months talented entrants have been submitting photographs to the competition covering the region’s Places, People, Rivers and Environment from the Borders to North Yorkshire.

It is aimed at encouraging creativity and discovering hidden talent in the region and this celebrated record entries.

Andrew Moffat, the Port of Tyne’s chief executive, said: “We are overwhelmed with the phenomenal number of entries which, at nearly 3,000 is a threefold increase on 2008. Our judges had an extremely difficult time in choosing the winners.”

This year’s winners were Tom Hill with Memories of Sunrise, Allan McKever with Sir Bobby Robson Tributes to a Gentleman, Fred Smith with The Wear at Stanhope Ford, Ian McWilliams with Industrial Disease and Jack Bucknall, who won Reflectyouth with Stepping Out.

Margaret Fay, chairman of One North East and judge of ‘The People’ category said: “North East England has so many iconic landmarks, stunning landscapes and a vibrant cultural scene which continue to inspire both people living in the region and visitors.

“The Reflect Awards celebrate the region’s fantastic assets and will encourage amateur photographers to capture what the region means to them and it is great to see that this year’s awards includes an under 16 category.”

Liz King, photographer and judge of ‘The Rivers’ category, said: “The excellent standard of the images submitted for the Rivers category proves the breadth of talent that often lies undetected within the region. I was looking for a winning image that stood out above the rest. One that reflects the imagination and passion of the photographer more than the expense of the equipment. The Wear at Stanhope Ford did just that.”

Reflectyouth, the under 16s category, was designed to inspire children and teenagers to become interested in photography. Judge Stella Hall, creative director of Culture10, said: “All of the images entered were deserving winners with real diversity and energy, but Stepping Out, a fantastic and quirky photo of a little bird, really is terrific.”

Winner of Reflectyouth was 13-year-old Jack Bucknall, from Whitley Bay. He said “It feels great to win, photography is my main hobby and so many good photos were entered in to Reflectyouth.”

To view the entries to this year’s Port of Tyne Reflect Awards, visit the reflect-tyne.com website. The finalists’ exhibition will be on display for the next month at Level 6 of the Baltic.