The British Life Photography Awards allow both amateur and professional photographers to be recognised for their work. The Royal Albert Hall are currently housing all the runners-up and winning entries for the public to see. There are ten categories with ten winners and one overall winner : Rural Life, Street Life, Portraiture, Urban Life, Life at Work, Brits on Holiday, British Weather, Historic Britain, Documentary Series and Young British Life Photographer. The winners were announced at the end of 2017, and the exhibition opened on the 8th January 2018.
I was lucky enough to attend the opening night of the exhibition where the photographers were able to see their work on the walls of the renowned Royal Albert Hall. This was a great evening to see acclaimed photographers praising each others work. It was also interesting to talk to some of the photographers about how they take pictures and what got them into it. As there were several categories, it was fascinating to discover which parts of the photographs qualified to be in those particular categories. The judging panel consisted of five individuals with direct and indirect connections with photography. Lucy Ford – Magazine Editor, Chris George – Journalist, Editor and Photographer, Jason Keene – Sales Manager at Sony, David Levenson – Photographer and Michael Pritchard – Director at the Royal Photographic Society. The judges had a rather difficult job of not only creating a short-list but choosing an overall winner among the categorised winners.
The awards are not only to praise photographers of their work but they are also to recognise and document the lives of the British. As the Director of the British Life Photography Awards, Maggie Gowan, says “It is a celebration of photographs that capture the very spirit and essence of British Life – spontaneous and arresting images of our nation and people.” I believe that the British Life Photography Awards inspire photographers young and old, professional and amateur to pick up a camera and capture images with a purpose. Personally, I love being on the streets of London with a camera in hand and the British Life Photography Awards are another incentive for photographers to be continuously documenting life in the big cities and the rural countryside.
