Dorset Photographer Scoops International Photography Award

Local professional photographer, Mark Bauer, is also celebrating this week after he walked away with the At The Water's Edge Award in the prestigious Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition run by Outdoor
Photography magazine.

Mark, who lives in Swanage, Dorset, beat off thousands of other competitors from a total of 126 countries with his serene shot of the Old Pier, in Swanage; making it a Dorset Double! Head judge and Editor of Outdoor Photography magazine, Steve Watkins, said:

'We were wowed by the quality of photos that so many outdoor photographers are producing, and by their utter commitment to getting images that reveal the world in both its enduring glory and, for some categories, at its most troubled. We thought that last year's judging was challenging, but this year we needed to re-vote many times on some categories, as it became almost impossible to reach a conclusion. In the end, though, Mark's image of Swanage Old Pier really had the edge over the other images in the category. It is an absolutely classic and timeless seascape that would grace the wall of
any gallery.'

Mark Bauer said about taking the image:

'This was shot shortly after sunrise, with some colour still in the heavy sky.
I framed with the intention of cropping to a square, and took a minimalist approach, concentrating on the posts curving out to sea. A five-minute exposure smoothed the sea and clouds, simplifying the image further. A few buoys were removed in post-processing, in keeping with the minimalist look.'

Winning means that Mark not only gets his image published in Outdoor Photography magazine's January issue, which is on sale from the 22nd December 2011, but his image will also be exhibited at the competition exhibition, which runs at theprintspace gallery in London, from the 12th-31st January 2012.

He also wins £500 worth of vouchers from Ocean Capture. A fantastic Christmas present indeed!

To see all of this year's winning images, including Mark's, readers can go to the competition website: www.opoty.co.uk/2011-winners.

For more information about the competition, please go to www.opoty.co.uk.

Mark Bauer runs his photographic workshop company, Dawn2Dusk Photography from Swanage, and he completed a City and Guilds course in photography at the Arts Institute in Bournemouth in 1994.