We photographers are blessed with some magnificent landscapes and seascapes to capture across the UK – some of the best in the world, in fact. Whether it’s the majestic mountain ranges of Snowdonia or the Scottish highlands, the classic rolling countryside of the west country or the wild coast of Northumberland, passionate photographers really are spoiled for choice in this country.

To encourage readers to take some really memorable images this summer, AP has teamed up with cottages.com, the UK’s leading provider of self-catering holiday properties and luxury homes, in a unique competition called ‘Viewfinder.’

The prizes include one of five fantastic UK breaks up to the value of £2.500 and a GoPro bundle.

The lucky winners will certainly have plenty of ‘staycation’ options, as cottages.com offers more than 19,000 places to stay, from coastal retreats to country castles. Pets are welcome, too.

Lots of options
To succeed in this contest, we’re looking for images that capture the UK at its glorious, beautiful best.

There are five competition categories – Classic Countryside, City Break Sights, Capturing the Coast, Sunscape Scenes and Wild Walks – which gives fans of landscape and scenic photography a lot of creative scope.

The judges, who include AP editor Nigel Atherton, eminent travel journalist and broadcaster Simon Calder, and Paul Evans from cottages.com will be looking for captivating images that perfectly portray the beauty of Britain.

So you’ll need to make the most of your surroundings and the amazing scenery on offer, whether it’s a perfectly timed ‘golden hour’ shot taken on the coast, or a bracing walk on the moors under a dramatic sky – less than perfect weather is not an obstacle here.

Or you could submit an alternative view of a well-known beauty spot. Your photographic creativity is more important than the particular location, however, and your entries can be taken on smartphones or mainstream cameras.

More abstract approaches are welcome as well, along with classic landscape photography techniques; after all, there are many different ways to capture the mood and beauty of a place. Night shots are welcome too; think about some of the amazing images featuring the stars and milky way over a landscape that we’ve featured in AP.

No better time
“The UK is blessed with many fantastic sights and locations for photographers who love the great outdoors, but to capture the best pictures you need to catch the best light, which is usually at the beginning and end of the day,” said AP editor Nigel Atherton.“This means that you really need to be staying in the area to stand the best chance.”

“With overseas jaunts off the agenda for most of us for the foreseeable future there’s no better time than now to explore the UK a bit more, so we are delighted to be partnering with cottages.com for this great competition. I’ll be looking for pictures that demonstrate excellent technical skill and creative vision. Pictures must be sharp, correctly exposed and well composed, of course. But I also want to see images imbued with great atmosphere or that demonstrate originality – images that stand out from the hundreds of other competent record shots of the same place.”

Simon Calder noted that while he has been fortunate to have seen many amazing views as part of his work as a travel journalist, “some of the most breath-taking are right here on our doorstep. It’s all out there to be discovered,” he said, adding: “You don’t need to go abroad to write a good travel article and the same applies to a good photo. I will be looking for photographs that show intriguing choices in terms of light, view point and subject matter.”

Paul Evans of cottages.com added: “This year will be forever remembered as the year of the staycation, and we want to give people the chance to capture this time and celebrate some of the amazing landscapes the UK has to offer. We can’t wait to see what all those viewfinders out there come up with and declare our winners in September.”

The Viewfinder competition runs across the summer and closes on September 5, when the judging panel will pick their five favourite images. Full details of how to enter can be found here.