Goldstein scoops the new Telegraph Travel Photography AwardDec, 06 2004 - 07:20  Amateur photographer Paul Goldstein is the winner of the new Telegraph Travel Photography Award 2004, in association with the Royal Photographic Society and Jessops. As the overall winner he collects Ł5,000, as well as his prize for winning the amateur category: a two-week photographic trip with Kuoni, plus Ł500 worth of Jessops vouchers.
Mr Goldstein, 41, works in sales and marketing for Exodus Travel; but his passion is Kenya's Masai Mara. Of his winning picture, made at the end of a day's safari, he says. "It was actually shot just outside the reserve. The Masai were standing underneath an acacia tree, with the sun going down behind them. I jumped out of the four-wheel-drive and framed it, steadying my camera on a beanbag on the bonnet." He plans to give part of his prize money to Olk Imitare Primary School in the Northern Mara. He's also long wanted to produce a book on the Masai Mara, but as of this moment isn't sure how an amateur photographer could get such a project published. He hopes winning the Telegraph Travel Photography Award may help.
The professional category winner is Tom Craig, who collects a two-week photographic trip with Seasons in Style, plus Ł500 worth of Jessops vouchers. At 30, Craig, winner of several press awards, including British Magazine Photographer of the Year (2001) and Arts & Entertainment Photographer of the Year (2001), is very much a name to watch. He works globally, on commissioned and personal assignments, and is currently engaged on a long-term project with Médecins Sans Frontičres. He is probably best known for his humanitarian work with Unicef, for which he was on assignment, documenting a polio immunisation programme, when he took his winning picture in Northern Zambia.
David Magner, 29, wins the student category and a prize of a two-week photographic trip with ITC Classics plus Ł500 worth of Jessops vouchers. David is a second-year HND photography student at City & Islington College in London. Before starting his course he was an optician, a profession he continues part-time to fund his studies. David, who was born in Zimbabwe, is passionate about travel, particularly in South America and South-East Asia. He says his Jessops vouchers will help pay for a wide-angle lens for the Hasselblad X-Pan camera on which he shot his prize-winning photograph in Cuba.
The Telegraph Travel Photography Awards, in association with the Royal Photographic Society and the photographic retailer Jessops, were launched in June 2004. The competition was free to enter and the organisers were keen to prove that great travel photographs are very much more dependent upon the photographer's eye than on kitbags full of expensive gear. Despite the short amount of time for entries this year, more than 9,000 photographs were submitted in the three categories: Amateur, Student and Professional. The judges were the photographers Lord Lichfield, Don McCullin and Charlie Waite; Roger Reynolds, president of the Royal Photographic Society; David Land, editor of The Royal Photographic Society Journal; Simon Bainbridge, editor of the British Journal of Photography; Andrew James, editor of Practical Photography; and Michael Kerr, assistant travel editor of The Daily Telegraph.
Talking about the Award Don McCullin, Hon FRPS comments: "I'm particularly pleased so many people entered the amateur category of the competition. So often people who have a real talent aren't themselves aware of its potential."
Lord Lichfield, FRPS says: "All the categories brought forth strong winners, but for me the Masai picture just has the edge. It's a very good shot. The sun is rich; and the clouds cause a sort of natural brown filter gradation. All photographers deserve a bit of luck and the best photographs I've ever taken have all had a large slice of it. Paul Goldstein's had it here; although it's a fine picture technically, too, in terms of exposure and composition. He's got a good eye, it's a worthy winner, I'm delighted it's from an amateur, and I wish him the best of luck for his photography in the future."
RPS President Roger Reynolds, HON FRPS, says "The Royal Photographic Society has recognised the importance of travel photography through its Distinctions Programme for very many years. We're delighted to be associated with this innovative and exciting new Travel Photography Award, and very pleased the awards attracted such a large entry. My congratulations to Paul Goldstein and the category winners."
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