The winner of the Isles of Scilly Photography Competition 2014 has been announced. It is Steven Burbidge who lives near Norwich in Norfolk. His winning photograph, which received 686 online votes, was “Puffin”. He wins a two-night break for two at Samson Hill Cottage on Bryher and two return boat tickets for the Scillonian III.
The Islands’ Partnership worked with the AONB Partnership on Scilly to create the competition in order to augment its photo library, as well as to generate a bit of a buzz around visitors on holiday on Scilly, and publicity and PR for the islands.
“More than 800 photographs were entered into this, our first Isles of Scilly Photography Competition – far more than we anticipated – and the overall standard was really impressive. In fact, because the standard was so high, we’ve decided to send each of the other seven category winners a small token of our appreciation, some Veronica Farm Fudge,” says Islands’ Partnership Tourism Coordinator, Amanda Pender. “Some of the many entries are already being used for marketing purposes. In the forthcoming 2015 Isles of Scilly Guide, for example, the ‘10 reasons to love Scilly’ section features competition photographs.
“We’re delighted to have created a lot of excitement and enthusiasm from our visitors,” she continues. “And, importantly, from the Islands’ Partnership point of view, it has helped to augment our existing library tremendously. On the back of its success, we certainly intend to run a photo competition again next year.”
The winning amateur photographer, Steven, came to Scilly with his family and stayed on Tresco in April. “It was early in the year for puffins to be around but I’d always wanted to see them. So I took a boat trip to St Agnes on the off chance and I got lucky,” he says. “This was our first time to the Isles of Scilly and we were all absolutely smitten. It’s really exciting to have won this weekend break thanks to the Isles of Scilly Photo Competition. I hope it will be the first of many return visits to the islands.”
The Islands’ Partnership would like to thank Isles of Scilly Travel, Samson Hill Cottage and the AONB Partnership for their support with the competition.