Photography News 16

Competitions

Lovers of Light Joe Tree is the founder of daily photo sharing site Blipfoto and judge for the VELUX Lovers of Light photo competition. With entries for the comp still flooding in, we caught up with the photo entrepreneur to find out how the competition was going INTERVIEW

architecture with a sunset background. The feeling, when you get the picture you’re looking for and can share it with other people, is exceptional. Who is your typical entrant? The competition is open to amateur and professional photographers alike. Both winners from the previous two years of the competition have been keen amateurs who use photography first and foremost as a hobby so it’s brilliant to see them rewarded for something they enjoy doing in their spare time. When we launched the competition, we set out to make it inclusive to all keen photographers and hope it encourages them to think about daylight differently. What doyouwant to see fromthis year’s entries? The standard of entry has been excellent both years and continues to exceed all our expectations. We see everything from images of city landscapes and snow-covered mountains, to sea views and forest walks. In some ways it’s nice to face a difficult choice of picking one winner as it means we, as judges, get to see so many brilliant images. We hope to see much of the same this year and as always we’re looking for something that will jump out and ‘wow’ the judges.

hugely impressed with the quality, creativity and calibre of all the entries. I think we were all maybe a little surprised by how difficult it was to choose a winner from thousands of strong shots. Despite being relatively new, the competition has amassed an impressive number of entries (almost 15,000 last year). Why do you think it’s proved to be so popular? The VELUX Lovers of Light photography competition is very unique in that it encourages people to think about daylight and the important role it plays in our everyday lives through photography. It’s not always an easy job to capture daylight but the key is composition and timing. The competition is about capturing that perfect moment and I think this challenge is what inspires our entrants to deliver such a high calibre of entries. Sometimes you have to get up early in the day and catch a beautiful winter sunrise, or wait until later on in the day to catch the sun setting at just the right point. The competition encourages people to use their imagination freely and there are so many ways people can interpret daylight within photography whether it’s capturing a snow-covered mountain lit up by reflections of the sun or a cool piece of

Interview by Megan Croft

The feeling, whenyou get the picture you’re looking for and can share it with other people, is exceptional

The competition is hosted by both Blipfoto and VELUX, how did that collaboration come about? In 2012, we were approached by VELUX to work with them on a photography competition that encouraged people to think differently about daylight by capturing a moment of light through photography. The idea sounded refreshing and exciting, and it felt like a natural partnership as we are both aware of and feel strongly about the impact natural light can have on our daily lives. What’s theadvantageofhostingthecompetition on a website such as Blip? Blip already has a community of people who are incredibly passionate about photography. VELUX Lovers of Light gives them a great opportunity to have their work recognised and at the same time be in with a chance of winning a truly once in a lifetime prize. How is the competition going so far? We have been genuinely overwhelmed by the number of entries we’ve received so far, which has grown significantly year on year. We’ve also been

BELOW Stephen Banks’s photo Winter Surprise took third place in last year’s competition.

Photography News | Issue 16