SURREY LIVING: THE AFFORDABLE GRANITE PHOTO COMPETITION 2018

Surrey Living Photo Competition

At Affordable Granite we are proud to make a significant contribution to local life in Surrey. We are a significant employer in the Horley area. We try to be neighbourly and active in our immediate community. Our granite worktops grace the village cricket pavilion here in Charlwood, and we are involved in sponsoring youth sports teams in the county (as well as across the border in West Sussex!) Obviously, there is something in it for us – every business wants publicity and goodwill – but we genuinely want to put something back into an area which has treated us well, and where we have grown and been successful.

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Julia Vasylevska’s image of Brockham Bridge, Remembrance Sunday

Olympus OM-D E-M10, Zuiko 14-24

This year we wanted to celebrate our link with Surrey by organising a Surrey Living Photo Competition. Several of us here are keen photographers, both amateur and semi-pro, and it seemed a good fit with our interests. Last Friday we got together to judge the entries, and this week we are able to share some of the winning photos on the blog.

St Marthas Sharron Green

Sharron Green’s atmospheric view of the sunset (or is it sunrise?) from St Martha’s, near Guildford

Camera unknown

This was our first venture into this kind of competition. Obviously, people will only enter competitions that they hear about. Despite quite good uptake via social media, we tended to found that the coverage of entries across the county was very patchy. We were swamped with images taken in our immediate area, and from around Guildford, but other districts and boroughs had few or no photos. As a result, we ended up awarding two first prizes for Surrey Living images from Guildford and Mole Valley.

FallingLeavesInLammasPark Ellie Sutch

Falling Leaves In Lammas Park by Ellie Sutch 

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We had few entries in Spelthorne, but Ellie Sutch’s Falling Leaves would have been a strong contender even if we had had a bunch. Perhaps there will be more Staines area entries if we run this competition again.

Guildford Spoons James Hancock

Guildford Spoons – James Hancock

Sony ILCE-600 Mirrorless with Sony 16-50mm lens

James Hancock’s Guildford Spoons was one of my personal favourites in the competition. I rarely have the patience for tripod-based night shots; this image was one of the most “locatable” of all the Surrey Living entries. Anyone who knows the centre of Guildford will recognise this shot immediately!

Photography is more popular and “of the people” than ever before. It was great to see shots taken on high-end cameras rubbing shoulders with phone pics in our competition. I have photographed wedding receptions at the Surrey National Golf Course near Chaldon and Caterham, and I know it is a lovely spot. Michelle Fragniere’s photo (early morning, I think) captures the mood of pastoral tranquility.

Surrey National Golf Club Michelle Fragniere

Surrey National Golf Club, Chaldon – Michelle Fragniere

Phone camera – edit and filter with Snapseed

IMG_9901_competition Charlwood windmill at sunset Lisa Stowe

Charlwood Windmill at Sunset – Lisa Stowe

Canon EOS 6D, 35mm lens

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Lowfield Heath Windmill – Julia Vasylevska

Olympus PEN Mini / E-PM1

With all of Surrey to pick from, we would end up with two images of the same windmill! Variously known as Charwlood Mill and Lowfield Heath Mill, these shots show just how different two photographic treatments of the same subject can be! Lisa’s was the winner, but Julia’s atmospheric sky (and the tell-tale plane on the turn away from Gatwick!) made this a worthy runner-up.

Mayfield Lavender Carshalton Lisa Stowe

Mayfield Lavender Carshalton – Lisa Stowe

Canon EOS 6D – lens unknown

And our overall winner? This lovely image of a very happy French Bulldog tearing along between rows of lavender at one of Surrey’s more well-known farms was our firm choice. I was brought up not so far away from Mayfield Lavender – I had friends who lived in Lavender Vale – you can localize it pretty much on sight despite lack of other detail. The image is fun and bright and technically solid – we just liked it. Well done Lisa Stowe!

We are Affordable Granite, the leading installer of granite and quartz worktops in Surrey, Sussex and across the South East. For samples, quotes and any questions connected with any aspect of worktop installation or kitchen design, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01293 863992 or by email on sales@affordablegranite.co.uk/ .

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