Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Can you top this? Stunning lighthouse picture against a backdrop of pink lightning and calm seas just one of a series of British landscape pictures photographers are challenged to beat

Previous entries in prestigious competition displayed in exhibition to encourage budding photographers to enter
The stunning images were all commended at past Take A View Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards

PUBLISHED: 12:36, 18 June 2013 | UPDATED: 13:05, 18 June 2013

From rolling fields to gritty urban architecture, these stunning images celebrate the best of British landscapes.

The breathtaking scenes capture the diverse beauty of the four corners of the British Isles, from lighthouses in Jersey to otherworldly views on the Isle of Skye.

The evocative images that depict the country in all its glory are all commended past entries in the prestigious ‘Take A View - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards’.

Electrifying: This stunning picture of lighting over St Catherine's Lighthouse, Isle of Wight, is one of a series celebrating the best of British landscapes

Horizon: This image of rainbow emerging through the stormy skies above a beach in Sandsend, North Yorkshire,

Horizon: This image of a rainbow emerging through the stormy skies above a beach in Sandsend, North Yorkshire, features in the exhibitions

Flower of Scotland: A countryside scene at the Queen's View, near Tarland, Aberdeenshire, is among the pictures in the Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibitions

They are being displayed in a new travelling exhibition at train stations across the country to encourage budding photographers to take part.

At the extreme end of Jersey, La Corbiere lighthouse is surrounded by tumultuous waves, while on the Isle of Wight another is spotlighted against dramatically stormy skies.

The series also highlights the natural beauty of the British countryside.

The picturesque scene at the Queen's View, near Tarland, Aberdeenshire, shows the sweeping fields under a cloud-strewn sky.

Elsewhere, bluebells carpet the forest floor in Oxton, Nottinghamshire, and storm lighting bathes the rolling farmland in golden hues at Brentor, Dartmoor National Park, in Devon.

Dramatic seas: This picture of La Corbiere lighthouse, in Jersey, is part of the series that will be shown at major UK train stations across Britain this year

Green and pleasant land: Bluebells and leaves carpet the forest floor in Oxton, Nottinghamshire

Field of purple: This photograph of lavender fields at Castle Farm in Kent is a past entrant in the 'Take A View - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards'

The best of British: This view over Houns-tout Cliff, in Dorset, is one of a number of images that depict the British Isles in all their glory

Many of the images, such as a travelling steam train racing across The Viaduct at Ribblehead, North Yorkshire, evoke a bygone era.

But urban scenes are also depicted in the exhibition that is currently travelling around railway stations across the country.

The illuminated buildings at the Salthouse Dock in Liverpool show that industrial can be beautiful.

The travelling free exhibition of past entries is currently at Leeds Station.

Previous competition entries have also been showcased at London Waterloo, King's Cross, Glasgow Central and Manchester Piccadilly.

Breathtaking sunset: The wooden lighthouse at Burnham on Sea in Somerset stands alone against a glorious sky filled with oranges and purples

Urban scene: This illuminating picture of the world-famous Salthouse Dock, in Liverpool, shows that industrial can be beautiful

Rolling hills: Storm lighting bathes the sweeping farmland in golden hues at Brentor, Dartmoor National Park, in Devon

Otherworldly: Trotternish from the Quiraing, on the Isle of Skye, looks almost like an alien landscape

Helen Dawson, Leeds station manager said: 'The exhibition is a great addition to the station and will provide our commuters and passengers with a change of scenery for the week.

'People don’t realise how many beautiful places are accessible by rail in the region so it will be a real eye opener for some.'

Last year's winner was stripped of his prize when it emerged he had used Photoshop to doctor the sky.

David Byrne, 43, from Cannock, Staffordshire, won the Take a View Landscape Photographer of the Year award as it was a 'clear favourite' of the judges who agreed it best captured an aspect of the UK landscape.

But he was disqualified for employing excessive digital manipulation in his winning entry.

Entry for this year’s awards is now open with hopefuls having until early July to upload their pictures for a chance to win £10,000 - please visit www.take-a-view.co.uk.

Diverse: Losehill Pike and the Great Ridge from Mam Tor, Derbyshire, left

Diverse: The stunning sunset over Losehill Pike and the Great Ridge from Mam Tor, Derbyshire, left, and the eerie trees at The Dark Hedges, Co. Antrim