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Steve Cole's photographs, side by side - “Full Steam Ahead” (left) and “Towers of steam” (right)

LPOTY Awards recognise LUSEP colleague’s photography

LUSEP colleague Steve Cole’s photography has again been recognised by the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards (LPOTY).

Steve – who is part of the LUSEP Customer Service Team – has been a keen photographer from an early age. His photography explores the play of light across landscapes at dawn and dusk throughout the year. And, he finds unexpected beauty in the spaces where the natural and industrial worlds meet.

His work has earned him previous LPOTY accolades, and this year he has succeeded in two categories. Both images will feature in the highly regarded LPOTY book Landscape Photographer of the Year, and one will be part of the Awards’ UK touring exhibition.

The award-winning images – taken at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station – are:

Full Steam Ahead
Highly commended (Category – Black and white)
Above, left

“This shot was six years in the making – a moment when all the elements came together for the picture I had in mind. A cold windless morning, steam rising to the heavens, clear sky – and me rostered off work.

“To create a sense of movement in the steam, I chose to do a long exposure of over 10 seconds, using a couple of dark filters. As suspected, the resulting colour image was technically okay, but lacked impact. Processing it in black and white immediately gave it the swirling dynamism I was after.”

Towers of steam
Commended (Category – Your view)
Above, right

“This image has a rather different look – closer and almost abstract. The cooling towers to the left of the main set were bathed in sidelight, the highlights and shadows creating a sense of depth. I cropped in tightly to really focus on them, using a slightly faster exposure of about six seconds.

“This smoothed out the steam, giving it a sense of flow and – processed in black and white – heightens the scene’s force and power.”

Steve’s talents aren’t restricted to landscape photography. His shots of the campus kestrels have delighted us all, while providing a good idea of the fledgeling success of the LUSEP nesting box.

Steve’s advice to all aspiring photographers is: “Always believe in your own ability – and capture what you love to photograph.”

The annual LPOTY competition is open to professional and amateur photographers whose images capture scenes within the UK. Around 20,000-30,000 individual photographs are entered each year, and the yearbook contains only about 150 of them.

So, huge congratulations to Steve on his success.

To see more of his stunning work, head to his Flickr gallery.

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