Katherine’s success in international photography competition

The Photo London competition is an annual international photography fair that takes place at Somerset House in London. The digital 2020 edition took place 5-18 October and attracted 109 Photography galleries from 21 countries worldwide, and 336,400 online visitors. We caught up with Katherine to find out more:

Hi Katherine, why did you decide to submit your piece into the Photo London H&M competition?

I decided to submit my photo to the competition because I really felt it fitted the theme which was "Autumn light". The warm tones and hazy appeal to the image really seemed to personally reflect what autumn is about.

Tell us a bit about the piece:

I walked past this phone box and noticed the light shining directly through it and it made this warmth providing a majestic appeal to the seemingly mundane telephone box. I took the photo because I felt as if it was a moment that I wouldn't be able to replicate. The photo is shot on 35mm film and this really helped to draw attention to the fine details within the image.

How did it feel to be one of ten overall winners?

I was delighted and quite frankly shocked to realise my work had been selected, it still doesn't quite feel real. I found out by my lecturer informing me that a person under the same name had won a competition and when I saw the photo I realised that it was my work, I had no idea so it really did come as a complete surprise and one I feel truly honoured for.

Furthermore, I received an email congratulating me and saying that my photography won because it was a modern and creatively expressive way of representing the theme of ‘Autumn light’.

What are your future career plans?

My future career plans are to continue with the arts and to fulfil a career in the creative sector as a creative director, using my photography to provide a platform into this career path.

Guy Moreton, Associate Professor in Photography and Visual Research at Solent said “'We're delighted that Katherine had her photograph selected for the international Photo London H&M competition, and we are so proud of her achievement. Katherine's stunning, witty and eye-catching photograph was taken on a 35mm film camera and the film was processed, printed, and scanned in the fantastic industry-standard professional photography facilities that we are fortunate to have at Solent.

We have continued to offer a high-quality blended teaching and learning programme for our BA (Hons) Photography students during these difficult times and this has been important for Katherine, who has appreciated the photographic and media facilities that have been made safely available and accessible. Katherine's photograph is featured on Photo London digital channels and she received two exclusive tickets to Photo London 2021.”