As the “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” draws to a close to be replaced by the stunning sights of an English winter, successful North East photographer and film maker Cain Scrimgeour asks members of the public to enter a competition celebrating all things bright and beautiful about Northumberland National Park.
Cain, 23 from Whitley Bay, is supporting a photography competition in partnership with Northumberland National Park Authority and YHA (England and Wales), the organisations behind The Sill, a proposed £11.2m national landscape discovery centre in the heart of the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site.For more information about The Sill and the upcoming events, visit www.thesill.org.uk , find The Sill on Facebook or follow The Sill on Twitter @thesillproject
The Sill will replace the current visitor centre and YHA youth hostel at the Once Brewed site with a state-of-the-art building that is both “inspired by the landscape and of the landscape” and which, as its centrepiece, will feature a fully accessible green roof made from unique Northumbrian Whin vegetation that visitors can actually walk onto.
The Sill will inspire and transform how people understand, access and enjoy the natural and cultural landscapes of Northumberland National Park including the Hadrian’s Wall area as well as other outstanding areas in the region like the Cheviots, North Pennines and Northumberland Coast. These beautiful and dramatic areas, rugged landscapes and fantastic wildlife provide perfect scenery for budding photographers.
Cain, who recently provided time lapse footage and wildlife imagery for Robson Green’s new ITV1 series Tales from Northumberland, hopes to inspire local people and visitors of all ages to capture the quintessential beauty of the entire Northumberland National Park area and beyond on camera.
He said: “I’ve spent a lot of time photographing and filming various parts of Northumberland National Park and the wider North East region and the opportunities to capture breath-taking images are truly staggering. The Sill will introduce so many people to this rare beauty and I’m very excited to be involved with the project from the outset.
“I hope people of all ages and walks of life will get out and about with their cameras, whether they are highly technical pieces of kit or just their smart phones, and capture for themselves what the area has to offer. The colours and tones available at the end of autumn are absolutely gorgeous but it’s a really diverse landscape and genuinely looks amazing in every season; particularly the winter.
“In return for entering photos into the competition, you’ll have the chance to be part of something really special from its very beginning – the images will be used to promote The Sill far and wide and may even be incorporated into the new building somehow.
“I can think of few greater honours for a photographer than to inspire others to discover the beauty they see in something or to have their work connected with a centre of such importance where it will be admired and appreciated by fellow nature lovers. I’m so looking forward to seeing the entries we receive!”
The photography competition is open to all ages and experience levels, with a category for under 18s and a category for over 18s and a winner will be chosen at the end of each season. Photographs are welcomed that capture the essence of Northumberland National Park and other special Northumbrian landscapes in relation to one of three themes; environments (including lakes and rivers, crags, hills, iron age hillforts and traditional buildings etc), flora and fauna (all forms of wildlife from cattle to forests) and activities (including everything from people working on the land, children’s bike rides to rock climbing and astrology).
Stuart Evans, The Sill Project Director, said: “The Sill will be a hub to inspire people to visit and learn about Northumberland National Park and beyond. Those who live in and work this land are well aware of the fantastic views the Northumbrian landscapes offer and we’d love more people to experience and discover this for themselves and help us share the sights with many others.
“We’re thrilled that Cain is supporting the campaign, he has produced some awe-inspiring work in the park and will be a very welcome addition to our judging team when we make some very difficult decisions regarding our winners! We’ll be awarding some fantastic money can’t buy prizes, including a photography workshop with Cain.
“The bank of images we generate will be used to promote The Sill and we hope that contributors will feel immense pride in helping us bring our striking landscapes to life. We’re currently trying to raise £3.7m of funding to match what we’re set to receive from the Heritage Lottery Fund to bring our ambitious plans to fruition and these photographs will certainly help to demonstrate the wealth of opportunities on offer to potential funders.”
Northumberland National Park provides an abundance of extremely photogenic subjects, from the Cheviot Hills to Steel Rigg and red grouse to salmon, but anyone hoping to capture more adventurous activities should keep checking the events page of The Sill’s website for details of other photographic opportunities.
The best entries will be uploaded to The Sill’s social media profiles so anyone interested in seeing contributions from budding photographers of the North East should search ‘The Sill’ on Facebook and follow the project on Twitter, @thesillproject.
Entries can be uploaded to Facebook, Twitter or submitted by email to thesillproject@gmail.com . Images need to be at least 300dpi and a maximum file size of 10MB.
In entering the competition, entrants agree that copyright of the images belongs to The Sill and can therefore be used by them in any way they see fit, although attempts will always be made to credit the photographer.
The competition is ongoing and a judging panel including Cain Scrimgeour will determine winners on a quarterly basis.
For more information about The Sill and the upcoming events, visit www.thesill.org.uk , find The Sill on Facebook or follow The Sill on Twitter @thesillproject
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