The search for the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2015 begins
L to R, from the 2014 Award: Heather in Bloom, North York Moors by John Robinson and Sunrise at Winnats Pass, Derbyshire by Sven Mueller
Entry for the ninth annual Take a view Landscape Photographer of the Year Award is now open and entrants have until July 12 to submit their photographs of the British landscape. The Landscape Photographer of the Year is one of the world’s most exciting photography awards and the brainchild of renowned landscape photographer, Charlie Waite. The competition is open to everyone, with a special class for those younger than 17, and each entrant can submit 25 photographs across four categories. There is a prize fund worth £20,000, including £10,000 for the overall winner and additional prizes within each category.
As in previous years, an exhibition of shortlisted and winning entries will premiere in the late autumn. Previous locations for the annual showcase have included the National Theatre and London Waterloo Station. Shortlisted entrants will also be published in stunning coffee-table book Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 9,published by The AA, and described by The Times as a ‘coffee-table staple’.
Last year’s winner was Cumbria-based photographer Mark Littlejohn, who won with an enigmatic shot of a mountain stream in Glencoe, Scotland.
The Landscape Photographer of the Year is unique in that is celebrates the United Kingdom only, offering photographers worldwide an opportunity to showcase their images of Britain. From stark moorland to angular cityscapes, and from rocky coastlines to lush woodland, Britain’s remarkable landscape and volatile weather provides generous material to fire the imagination.
Photographers living outside the UK are encouraged to enter and there is a special prize offered by the competition’s sponsors for the best image from an overseas entrant (The Countryside is GREAT award).
The 2015 Awards are being held in association with VisitBritain and Countryside is GREAT. Jasmine Teer, VisitBritain’s Photography Manager, said: “Photographs that showcase the best of Britain play a vital role in VisitBritain’s mission: to raise our profile and inspire people all over the world to come and experience this beautiful country. We are very proud to support the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards and hope that, as part of Countryside is GREAT, we will encourage not only UK entrants but photographers from all over the world.”
Awards founder, Charlie Waite, added: “Now, more than ever, I think we are realising how important the British landscape is to our wellbeing. The feeling that we get when we shut the office door and escape to a green space, whether it be a small park or a vast mountain, is unique and of vital importance. Our landscape is a place in which to breathe and to create.”
Entries for the Landscape Photographer of The Year competition are now open until July 12, via www.take-a-view.co.uk. This year’s competition is run in association with Visit Britain and Countryside is GREAT.
Not all fake tan is created equal, in fact, too many of them leave you looking orange and smelling like a biscuit. Not so Madame LA LA West Coast Bronzing Face Serum. It smells divine and gives a brilliant bronzed look, all whilst infusing the skin with goodness.
It has a thick consistency and a little goes a long way. It is easy to apply and although it is a tinted formula, it gives a dark and rich colour. It gives a beautiful, deep, sun-kissed look. It is not only an amazing bronzer, but it also leaves skin hydrated and noticeably brighter- we love it.
Brilliant stuff available from feelunique.com
What they say:
Madame LA LA is an American-Brit self tan and skincare brand inspired by LA, Malibu beach, the Hollywood lifestyle, wellbeing and modern tanning. West Coast bronzing serum is a new and innovative instant self tan pick-me-up for the face, producing an LA-worthy glow. Infused with Coco Water & Green Tea to hydrate and brighten. Antioxidants Vitamin C and CQ10 combine with Vitamins A, E to protect skin and fight signs of ageing, boosting cellular renewal and collagen for a smooth complexion. The easy-to-apply tinted formula adapts to all skin tones and develops gradually. The serum can be used day or night.
There are a number of reasons a baby will wake you up at night: hunger, a wet or dirty nappy, boredom. Thankfully with the invention of baby sleeping bags your baby kicking of their sheets and waking you up because they are cold is a thing of the past. Our first thought when we first opened the Slumbersac packaging was how big it seemed. It has buttons at the side for the arms to make sure your little one is securely in. There is also a zip that goes down the side and along the bottom. There are buttons that fasten at the top, making it easy to put baby in. The Slumbersac is easy to use and the fabric feels nice and soft. Made with 100% cotton and lined with 100% pure cotton, they are rigorously tested and can be both machine-washed and tumble-dried. The design is cute and baby likes it. We were sent the green owl one to review and we love the design.
Slumbersac has a good choice of sleeping bags that caters for a wide range of ages from newborn right up to 10 years old.There is a great choice of designs to choose from featuring beautiful embroidery, appliqués and prints to suit both boys and girls. They are priced from £9
• Safe: We all want to make sure our children are as safe as possible, and a Slumbersac sleeping bag can really help. Conventional bedding can ride up and cover a baby’s face, causing breathing difficulties. In a Slumbersac bag, your baby can wriggle about as much as he likes without accidentally covering his head, which greatly reduces the risk of suffocation. Just as importantly, with a sleeping bag it’s much easier to make sure your baby is at the right temperature, not too cold and not too warm. This is significant because overheating is one of the risk factors implicated in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Convenient: With a Slumbersac bag, getting baby to bed is easy – just put them in the bag for a cuddle and then put them down in their cot or moses basket! The familiarity of their sleeping bag acts as a signal that it’s sleep time, which helps them to settle more quickly, and the warm and cosy bag will help them to drift off with minimal fuss. Plus, night-time nappy changes are made easy with the all-round zip.
• Comfortable: Slumbersac sleeping bags are made from 100% cotton with a soft and quick-dry fleece filling for maximum comfort and ideal for sensitive skin, so your baby will always be safe and snuggly. And because there are no covers for baby to get tangled up in, they are much more likely to sleep well – and so are you!
• Ideal Temperature: Baby Sleeping bags keep your child at a constant temperature during the night, which is safer and results in better sleep.
• Familiar comfort: Baby sleeping bags are ideal when traveling, on holiday or sleepovers as babies feel more at home in their sleeping bag. Your child is naturally more unsettled when traveling. The familiarity of their sleeping bag will help them settle in new and unfamiliar surroundings. Slumbersac’s specially designed travel sleeping bags can be used in car seats and buggies where your baby can be securely buckled into any seatbelt.
• Value: Slumbersac’s aim is to deliver quality, comfort and safety at a price you won’t find anywhere else! Slumbersac aim to offer their customers second to none customer service and receive impeccable feedback.
• Choice: Slumbersac offers a range of innovative products to compliment their sleeping bags, from sleeping bags with feet to bedding and comforters. They offer a wide choice of designs to suit all needs from birth to 10 years.
• Easy care: Slumbersac sleeping bags can be machine washed and tumble dried.
The issue: urinary incontinence. Something that an estimated 1 in 3 women of all ages suffer from, and many don’t even speak to their GP. Sadly it is still a taboo subject but here at Frost we want to raise awareness because help is at hand. Women do not need to suffer from this inconvenient issue. World Continence Week is coming up this month between 22-28th June and it is the perfect time to talk about this important issue.
There are some interesting statistics in the Femifree Lifestyle Report.
Femifree is a new, non-invasive device for the treatment of urinary incontinence which uses advanced technology to strengthen the pelvic floor muscle. It is innovative, advanced technology and is clinically proven. It helps strengthen and retrain the pelvic floor muscle, reducing the effects of urinary incontinence. It is non-invasive as the garment is worn outside the body.
While other products are invasive or uncomfortable, Femifree does not include any internal probes or pads. It is a real solution to a serious issue. It works through a controller and garment that are simple to use in the privacy of your own home.
Escada has come a long way since being founded in 1978 by Margaretha and Wolfgang Ley. The luxury international fashion group is now in over 60 countries and their clothes, accessories and fragrance are as beautiful and high-end as ever. Escada is a Frost favourite.
From beautiful clothes, to stunning shoes and bags, we have a little obsession with this brand. We love their use of unusual, bold colour combinations, patterns and embroidery. Not to mention the great fragrances it has launched. We had fun browsing the Escada lookbook and picking some of our favourite outfits. Sigh, we want it all.
Be brave and go for bold patterns. Add stunning red accessories for a statement look.
Yellow is big this season. Be on-trend with this patterned look.
This red dress is so stunning it is worth planning a party just to wear it.
This famous mom photographer shares her secrets with Frost Magazine and SmugMug.
Last year, Elena Shumilova took photos of her sons as they played by the Russian countryside. She uploaded the photos online, they started getting shared, and shared again… until they became a viral sensation, with over 60 million views.
These photos hit something magical all across the Internet — a sense of nostalgia for a childhood past. She even started getting letters from people in their nineties, saying the photos moved them to tears.
As parents, we instinctively want to take photos of our kids. We’re trying to preserve this brief slice of time before they grow up. But when we take our kids to professional photo studios, the results can end up looking stilted and unnatural.
We want to remember our kids as they actually are — not with the forced smile a stranger coaxed out of them at the studio, but with the real smiles and giggles they share with us every day.
How can we capture natural photos of our kids, the kind Elena seemingly has a magic touch for?
Elena has mostly been quiet since her photos have gone viral, undistracted by all the media attention. Instead, she focuses on raising her kids and continues to photograph them every day.
Given how quiet Elena has been, we are excited to share a behind-the-scenes look at her in action.
5 Tips to Get Better Photographs of Your Kids
1. How to get your kids to look natural, not “posed.”
So you catch your kids in the perfect moment — they’re outside playing and laughing, the lighting is just right, and you see this perfect picture you want to capture. You rush to get out your camera, but then…
They see the camera. They stiffen up. They start posing. The moment is lost.
What do you do?
When photographing children, the single most important thing is to photograph them often — every day.
You can’t just do it sporadically, or they’ll freeze up as soon as the camera comes out. Consistency is key. That way they’ll be comfortable around the camera.
It’s these everyday scenes that you want to capture — the ones you’ll remember best when they grow up.
To get the most genuine photos, I try to catch them in the moment — when they’re playing with each other and have completely forgotten about the camera.
Here they’re playing “airplanes,” a game we also play together at lunchtime when they’re feeling picky about their food.
2. The types of clothes that work the best.
I follow a pretty simple rule: clothes shouldn’t be distracting. They shouldn’t take attention away from what’s happening in the photo.
For such a simple rule, it’s harder to follow than you might think. Kids’ clothes today are designed to grab your attention—with bright colours, cartoon characters, and writing all over them. In photographs, all this takes attention away from your kids.
When I started pursuing photography seriously, I actually replaced all their outfits. This took quite a while to do, but now I know that anything I pull from their closet won’t interfere with the photo.
3. How to best capture kids of different ages.
Newborns A lot of parents have asked me about this photo — how did you get your one-month-old to look so calm? Infants are notoriously difficult to photograph because they’re often crying or fidgeting.
Here you’ll have an advantage as a parent. I’m his mom. I’m around him 24 hours a day, and I know when he cries and when he doesn’t. Let your parenting instinct help you choose the right moment.
The Golden Age: Ages 2–4 Something I noticed while photographing many children, including my own, is that there seems to be a universal age when kids are the most photogenic.
That seems to happen between ages two and four.
Kids around this age behave very naturally. They don’t care that someone is looking at them, they don’t care what others think, and they don’t care that a camera is pointed at them.
They aren’t yet self- aware. And so, they’re free.
Ages 5 and Older It gets a bit more difficult when they’re older. As early as age five, they start to become more self-conscious when the camera comes out. They start to pose.
The key here is to be very patient. Let them play while you disappear into the background. My best photos always happen at the end of a photo shoot, when my kids have forgotten all about the camera.
4. How to get good photos of your kids with pets.
Just like people, every animal is different. Some pets like to be photographed, and others don’t.
Because every pet is different, there isn’t a magic formula for this. I spend hours observing our farm animals, figuring out how they move and what angles work best for them — just like I would for people.
I’ve also tried bribing pets with food, but it doesn’t work. It’s almost impossible to get a good picture when they’re chewing or licking their paws. So I’ve learned the hard way not to feed our pets during photo shoots.
With animals, you have to rely on a bit of luck — and constant patience.
5. Don’t give up.
This is the most famous photo I’ve taken. It’s been viewed over 10 million times — but I almost didn’t bring my camera that day.
Before I took this photo, my confidence was at a pretty low point. I had tried for a photo of my son and dog 14 other times — not 14 other photos, but 14 full photo shoots, all failures.
I was convinced that my hands were too clumsy, or my dog was not the right dog for it, or my kid was not the right kid for it. I was just feeling desperate that day and didn’t even want to bring my camera.
But something told me to bring it. And on that fifteenth day, it all just came together.
This dog of ours is now famous — but he’s not all that photogenic from most angles. He’s actually a pretty difficult dog to work with. From the previous 14 photo shoots, I’d learned what angles and body compositions work for him and my son.
It‘s easy to get discouraged. It’s easy to think, “Oh, why bother, it won’t work anyway.” And it may not for the first 14 times. Those 14 photo shoots weren’t failures though, because I learned from them. And they’re what made the fifteenth one possible.
Don’t give up.
Rather than creating high-pressure elaborate setups, observe your kids in everyday simple situations. Do it every day. Bring your camera along.
And then — when the right moment comes along — you’ll be ready.
The new Crystal Clear Ionic Sonic Cleanse Kit, designed to clean, smooth and hydrate skin like never before, is launching on Ideal World TV on Tuesday 9th June at 5pm.
The kit, available exclusively throughout June from Ideal World TV, allows you to achieve a bright and glowing complexion in two simple steps.
Using specially designed silicone bristles to help deep cleanse the face and body, it combines the advanced technology of ultra-sonic motion with a negative ion charge leaving your skin pure and toxin-free!
Available from Ideal World TV for £79.99, the kit comes with a cleansing gel, polish and moisturiser, giving you a spa like experience for a fraction of the price!
The Crystal Clear Ionic Sonic Cleanse Kit is available from www.idealworld.tv, Sky channel 654, Freeview 22, Virgin 747 and Freesat 812
A wise old friend once taught me that one should always drink the best wine that can be afforded, and if that means just a single glass, then ‘C’est la vie.’
I have tried to follow this sage advice and have paid as much to savour a glass of fine wine than some of the lesser bottles on offer and never once regretted it. However such an investment can be inhibiting. If I am only going to have the one glass I need to be sure that I am going to enjoy it and that tends to lead me to sticking firmly to the nursery slopes, no going off piste for moi.
Despite the many fantastic new world wines I must confess to a slight prejudice towards France when it comes to enjoying a glass of red, which is why my latest find is ….. well, such a find.
Here the staff speak to each other in their Gallic tongue and to their English speaking customers with a thick French accent that immediately has my taste buds on red alert.
The glass frontage allows one to watch the shoppers pass by on their way to who knows where, adding to that cosy feeling that one has escaped the hustle and bustle of a busy metropolis. Despite the windows the overall feeling is cosily dark added to by chocolate brown walls decorated with sepia coloured sheet music, whist in one corner an old piano challenges customers to play a tune.
This typically French experience is reassuringly eclectic and quirky, and the small number of upturned barrels serving as tables ensure that you could only be in one place, a Cave du Vin.
But worry not, you won’t need Eurostar to get you here as this French temple to the grape is but a stone’s throw from Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross Underground Stations.
As someone who, whether by accident or design, likes to move off the beaten track this is hardly somewhere you will stumble across but it so typically bijou and intimate in that unmistakable French way, that it really is worth making the effort to find it.
It is situated parallel to Haymarket in London’s busy West End in the aptly named Royal Opera Arcade immediately behind Her Majesty’s Theatre, that runs between Pall Mall and Charle’s II Street
There is only the one room with 8 or 9 tables but outside the covered arcade allows for additional seating and the supplementary heating means that you can sit outside even in the most extremes of the British climate.
As with any self respecting Cave du Vin some walls are lined with bottles of fine wine. There is something here for everyone from the connoisseur to those wishing to try something not to be found on the supermarket shelf.
The friendly waiting staff are more than happy to advise and take you through the first tasting regardless of if you have popped in for the odd glass or to savour a full bottle.
To accompany the wine one can enjoy platters of delicious cheese, charcuterie or a small bowl of olives sprinkled with pepper.
On occasion, a crackly Edith Piaf gramophone record completes my illusion, that I am tucked away in my favourite Cave du Vin in France pre theatre or post shopping.
The wine is not cheap, but what you save on a trip Paris you can spend on a glass of wine in fact a bottle may well be in order, given the good advice of my wise friend.
