Picture credit: Derek Bates
An amateur photographer plans to splash out £2,500 on new camera gear after winning the Wish You Were Here photography competition, but he says his wife has other ideas.
Derek Bates beat more than 2,700 entries to claim the cash prize and a trip to the Old Pulteney scotch whisky distillery in Wick, Scotland.
Derek took the winning image at the North Gare conservation area on Teeside, using a Nikon D70 digital SLR.
?I found the area an ideal haven for photography and the changing light helped me to create a great photo opportunity,? he said.
Derek added: ?My wife would love to buy a new three-piece suite with the prize money but if I have my way it will definitely be going towards a brand new camera!?
The annual competition, now in its sixth year, searches for the best nautical image by an amateur and aims to revive the British tradition of the ‘seaside postcard’.
This year?s subjects ranged from surfers to seagulls.
Congratulating Derek, Margaret Mary Clarke, senior brand manager at Old Pulteney, said: ?It is a beautiful photograph and captures everything we were looking for in a winning image: a stunning landscape of the British seaside, great composition and fantastic use of light reflecting off the clear blue sea.?
The competition was organised by Old Pulteney, in association with Amateur Photographer, Visit Britain and the Sunday Express.
