Weather Photographer of the Year 2017
I mentioned a little while ago that I’d been shortlisted in the Weather Photographer of the year competition.
The organisers, the Royal Meteorological Society and the Royal Photographic Society received over 2000 entries from 60 countries for this year’s competition.
Quite bizarrely, whilst not taking the overall title, I came in first place. This is a link to the results – https://www.rmets.org/weather-photographer-year-2017-winners-announced
I wish I’d been able to attend the awards ceremony in London last night, that would have been my first. I’d have been worrying about just how happy I could look for the winners, certainly not expecting I’d have been one of them. However, I’m honestly very happy to be here in Fuerteventura, exploring a whole new angle to my photography. I’ve another post to follow about ruined and decaying buildings very soon.
I got a Google alert on the beach today (great to have 4G while lying in the sun) to say that I’d appeared on the BBC News website. Certainly not something I thought would ever happen.
Here’s the picture, once again, that got me first place..
Cornwall Photographic 
Congratulations on this very exciting news!
September 21, 2017 at 4:51 pm
Thank you very much Melinda! Much appreciated!
September 22, 2017 at 6:45 am
Congratulations! That is awesome.
September 21, 2017 at 4:56 pm
Thank you Debbie! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:46 am
Congratulations and well done Adrian!!
September 21, 2017 at 5:10 pm
Thank you very much Tina! It was quite a shock to say the least. :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:46 am
Fantastisch en wat een dieptewerking in de foto.
September 21, 2017 at 5:33 pm
Thank you very much Lou! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:47 am
Congratulations, a capture that has many levelsl of interpretation about Mother Earth’s majesty and power.
September 21, 2017 at 5:45 pm
Thank you very much Sally. It was quite a surprise to be shortlisted, to be honest I’d forgotten I’d entered the competition and then to get that news was a real shock. :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:48 am
Well done!
September 21, 2017 at 6:06 pm
Thank you Sue! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:48 am
Wow! How wonderful! I’m so impressed, but not surprised. You’ve done such great work. Truly well deserved! Congratulations.
September 21, 2017 at 6:34 pm
Thank you so much Gunta. This was a real shock and more than a little humbling. There were so many amazing photographs on that shortlist. :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:49 am
I love that picture!! I’m so happy for you. You deserve all the awards in the world. Love your style and your humility as a photographer!! Awesome, well done!!
September 21, 2017 at 7:08 pm
Thank you so much Gin. This was such a surprise. Needless to say, a very pleasant one! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:50 am
WOOT! Well done you! I do rather like the overall winner (not sure how that is chosen if yours won 1st spot) and the fogbow. Not so keen on the Flatiron building, too much slushy foreground for my liking and I want to see more of the building, but all very interesting photos. The guy in the rain reminded me of the wedding photos of my son and his wife outside in the rain, holding her dress up and my other son holding a big black brolly over her :-D
Note to self: must get out to do some winter storm photos this year.
September 21, 2017 at 7:32 pm
Thank you Jude. I was initially very shocked to even be shortlisted. There were so many amazing photographs in that shortlist and when I went through them I felt very humbled to be among them then to get this news, well, it was a real surprise. :-)
I loved the under 17 winner. The realities of life as a photographer. The number of times I’ve been in that situation though it’s been mostly snow that I’ve dealt with in that way.
Your Son’s wedding shoot sounds like it was a lot of fun! :-D
September 22, 2017 at 6:54 am
Well deserved Adrian. Your landscapes are phenomenal. I got a couple of ‘interesting’ photos of the wet wedding shoot, through a rain-streaked window!! Not great images but excellent memories :)
September 22, 2017 at 11:48 am
Thank you Jude. It’s not always the quality of the photographs that matters but what they mean to you. I’m glad you have them! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 3:43 pm
It’s a stunning photograph! Congratulations on the accolade.
September 21, 2017 at 8:01 pm
Thank you very much Peter!
September 22, 2017 at 6:55 am
It certainly deserved the nomination…One of my most favourite photos of the year . Congratulations.
September 21, 2017 at 8:16 pm
Thank you so much Paula! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:58 am
Well deserved. Kudos!
September 21, 2017 at 10:11 pm
Thank you very much! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:58 am
Congratulations, Adrian. Well deserved.
September 21, 2017 at 11:25 pm
Thank you Emilio! Iceland has been good to me. :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:58 am
Congratulations :)
The above image is one of my favourites. I like the simplicity of the tonal range and yet, it expresses so much in its composition.
September 22, 2017 at 1:03 am
Thank you so much Vicki! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 6:59 am
Huge congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 22, 2017 at 1:52 am
Thank you Naomi! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 7:00 am
Please put the link to the BBC article.
September 22, 2017 at 1:55 am
I will see if I can find it.. :-)
September 22, 2017 at 7:00 am
Congratulations. Well deserved. But how did you not win the overall title? Did you have to submit a portfolio that was judged as a whole?
September 22, 2017 at 2:31 am
Thank you Mr Dragon. I have absolutely no idea how the judging worked. There were only two categories and we submitted individual shots so to my mind, I came second but hey, if they say I came first, I’ll go with that. :-D
September 22, 2017 at 7:02 am
A well-deserved win. Your photo really stands out from that group…it’s always a thrill when you post an image. Thanks for your work at this.
September 22, 2017 at 2:48 am
Thank you for such a lovely comment Harold! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 7:03 am
Congratulations!!! What an honor. And a beautiful shot.
September 22, 2017 at 3:22 am
All very humbling. The shortlisted photographs were all so outstanding. Thank you so much! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 7:04 am
Congratulations! I am not surprised.
September 22, 2017 at 9:27 am
Thank you so much Anne-Christine! :-)
September 22, 2017 at 3:44 pm
That’s wonderful – and well-deserved, it really is a great photo. Bravo!
September 23, 2017 at 7:58 am
Thank you very much Anna! :-)
September 23, 2017 at 8:03 am
Hooray! 🏆 Congratulations, dear Adrian!! Your work is outstandingly good and this is very well deserved, I’m so happy for your 🥇.
Sorry for being so late for this entry, travelling and bad connections slows me down on the blogosphere. Enjoy your precious time in Fuerteventura, both of you and celebrate this great award. :-)
Hugs from the Rhine Valley. x
September 23, 2017 at 9:09 am
No problem Hanne. I haven’t forgotten that I owe you a print of this picture. I hope to get it to you very soon. My new panel passed the first stage of the fellowship process so things are looking up all round. I hope you are well and happy. Chris sends his love as do I. :-) xxx
September 23, 2017 at 3:26 pm
I love the vision of you resting on the beach and the phone pinging to let you know you were on BBC! Love it. Your photo is very different from the others, it’s good that it now reaches a wider audience. More people can see it, and contemplate the subtle beauty of it.
September 23, 2017 at 3:16 pm
It was all a bit bizarre Lynn. Thank you so much for your comment. When I viewed the shortlist it seemed to me that my image stuck out like a sore thumb. All those beautiful, pretty, images but I think in the end, it was the uniqueness of the photograph that the judges liked.
It’s all been very humbling and a complete shock. I’d forgotten I’d entered the competition so notification of my shortlisting was surprise enough. This really was totally unexpected and one small part of me wishes I’d been at the awards ceremony now but that’s ego talking. I’m so happy to be here in Fuerteventura exploring another avenue to my photography. Thank you once again. I’m so glad you appreciate the picture for what it is. Not everyone gets its minimalism.
September 23, 2017 at 3:34 pm
Thank you so much Lynn. It was a bit bizarre. Unfortunately I also got a ping to say I’d made the Daily Mail, a major newspaper and news website here in the UK but the journalist writing the article clearly decided to re-run the competition and pictures that made the shortlist only were published, the winners photograph questioned as to whether it was better than another that made the shortlist only and I only got a passing mention way down the page and my photograph was not published. Was that reporting the competition? I think not but then, who can trust the press? :-)
September 24, 2017 at 4:02 pm
Your comments about the press are interesting, but you know, if you’d been featured in a major way in the same article, it would likely cause you to feel flattered, and then before too long, some other mention would swing the other way. Best not to get on that swaying ride in the first place, I think. The press isn’t likely to achieve objective reporting. That’s why we take it all with a grain of salt! , or at least we make up our own minds. But it would have been nice if they had reproduced your photo. That just brings me back to the initial feeling – it’s always best to steer clear of involvement with the press, and if it comes your way, take it as lightly as possible. Getting off the soap box, excuse me!
September 25, 2017 at 8:41 pm
Thank you as ever Lynn. You’re quite right about the press and I always welcome your soap box commentary! :-)
September 26, 2017 at 5:26 am
Your shot was far too subtle for the Judges – congratulations
September 23, 2017 at 5:41 pm
Thank you very much Scott! Much appreciated!
September 24, 2017 at 4:11 pm
Congratulations, dear Adrian! What a great prize to win, we feel proud and very happy for you. As you know, we love this photo. :-)
Greetings to you and Chris from Cley, take care
Klausbernd
September 23, 2017 at 8:29 pm
Thank you so much Klausbernd. I have a copy of this photo, printed A3 and ready to send, as I promised quite a long time ago now. I will be sure to put it in the post when I get home. Very best wishes from Chris and myself! You must be missing Hanne very much!
September 24, 2017 at 4:18 pm
Thanks a lot, dear Adrian :-) :-)
Dina is in Germany right now and I am busy in the garden. I work a lot with our lodger, who is a trained gardener, and so our garden is in perfect condition.
We had just friends from Germany over here staying at the mill (very special rooms). He is a photographer and was always out with Dina taking pictures.
Very best wishes for you and Chris from
Siri :-) Selma :-) Klausbernd :-)
September 25, 2017 at 10:56 am
Nice to have expert help with the garden on hand Klausbernd! Best wishes to you all in Cley and Hanne in Bonn from Chris and myself in sunny Fuerteventura! :-)
September 26, 2017 at 5:15 am
Wishing you a great time on Fuerteventura
:-) We have a beautiful Indian summer here.
All the best
The Fab Four of Cley
September 26, 2017 at 12:24 pm
Thank you Klausbernd. I heard that the weather in the UK had been very good the last few days. Enjoy! :-)
September 26, 2017 at 5:11 pm
Brilliant news Adrian, it is a spectacular image……..full of drama on the underside of the snow storm with the mountains just visible on the left of the horizon. Because the landscape is so minimal the focus is placed solely on the weather formation – the storm has nothing to compete with in the composition……..so it’s a worthy winner for WPotY 2017
September 24, 2017 at 3:16 pm
Thank you so much Mark. Unfortunately I got a ping from Google to say that I’d been mentioned on the Daily Mail website only the journalist writing the article decided they’d re-run the competition, questioning the overall winner against a photo they liked more of a wave by a lighthouse. They published a whole bunch of photographs that only made the shortlist ahead of winners and I only got a passing mention and my photograph wasn’t published despite coming first. Reporting on the competition? Clearly not. I was a bit miffed to say the least. Having never won much of anything in my life and then to come first in this prestigious competition, it was a bit galling but then, who can trust the press? They always spin things their way, even when the facts are right before them and the Daily Mail has to be worse than most. :-)
September 24, 2017 at 4:35 pm
They aren’t called the “Daily Fail” for nothing……it must be very annoying though 😏
September 25, 2017 at 7:14 am
It was Mark. I did get a call from the Daily Mail today though to say they’ll put it right which is something. Very apologetic, the story came from some PR firm apparently and they were not given my photo for some reason.
September 25, 2017 at 6:13 pm
Many congratulations on this award, Adrian. Well deserved.
September 26, 2017 at 4:30 pm
Thank you very much Andy! :-)
September 26, 2017 at 5:11 pm
Congratulations dear Adrian! :) Well deserved, and I absolutely love the picture!
September 28, 2017 at 10:18 am
Thank you so much Camilla!
September 28, 2017 at 4:04 pm
that’s a really great photo, just wondering when i can capture that kind of photo. great job, man!
October 1, 2017 at 5:59 pm
Thank you very much. So much of photography is being in the right place at the right time and planning for that is everything. :-)
October 2, 2017 at 4:20 pm
thank you. I’ll keep trying. sometimes my photo is spontaneous and i don’t have time to get my gear up and just use my mobile phone lol, like tonight i saw full moon and its beautiful then i just capture it and retouch it with whatever photo editor i have in my phone.
October 3, 2017 at 9:53 pm
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Congratulations! What a stunning image
October 10, 2017 at 8:19 am
Thank you very much Amy! :-)
October 11, 2017 at 1:48 pm
A belated congratulations, Adrian. It’s well deserved.
October 21, 2017 at 7:07 pm
Thank you very much Otto! :-)
October 24, 2017 at 10:11 am
It is a powerful and glorious photograph!! Congratulations, Adrian!
October 27, 2017 at 1:21 pm
Thank you so very much Karen. This was quite a shock. I’d honestly forgotten I’d entered. :-)
October 29, 2017 at 11:55 am