Ibex Photo Competition 2011: Winners!

Picking the winners in the photo competition was enough to test the judgment of Solomon, there were so many outstanding pictures to choose from. A lot met our basic criteria - technical (focus, detail, contrast, use of light), creativity, composition (balance, where the eye is led) and - at the end of the day - whether we liked it.

We were drawn to photos that conveyed the excitement of walking in the hills, which is why, after much agonised indecision, we gave first place to David (Watts)'s shot of dropping down under a stormy sky to a glistening lake in North Wales, against a vista of mountains and more distant water. Almost pipping him at the post was Saaj's wonderfully atmospheric photo of a walker looking over endless snowy tops under a wild winter sky. Third place went to David again (he did submit about ten times as many photos as anyone else!) - no walkers in this photo, but the way he caught the low-lying mist against the mountains was irresistable.

Judging panel: Judith Barnes & James Hancock

First place: David Watts

Second place: Saaj Ali

Third place: David Watts