Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win the title!
Hello Everyone!
The last few days have been pretty exciting for me as the news was made public on Thursday (6 Feb) that I had won the title of Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024.
To be honest, the whole thing feels incredibly surreal. I received an email on 27 January informing me of my success (yes, I did almost fall off the sofa!) and then had to sit on the news for 10 days. The reason for the early intimation was also an invite to the awards ceremony next month. Unfortunately, I can’t attend as I will be in India but, Hollywood style, I have been asked to provide a short video accepting the award. I wonder how many attempts it will take to get a decent 30 second clip?!
The competition is run over 10 months with a different category for each of the ten rounds. You can enter a maximum of five images per round: one free entry with a code from Amateur Photographer magazine and four paid entries. The top ten entries are awarded points on a decreasing scale. Shortlisted, but not in the top ten, entries gain ten points. Only your highest scoring image counts for the leaderboard. This means that if all your images are shortlisted in a round, but not placed, you will score just ten points. But each point counts! And, as I learned last year, to be in with a chance you have to enter each round regardless of whether you think your images are strong enough or not.
This is what Amateur Photographer had to say:
With 12,000 entries from over 2,200 photographers, this year’s Amateur Photographer of the Year competition was a tough contest to win, and in fact to be anywhere near the top of the leaderboard by the end required a high degree of consistency across the entire year.
Lynn Fraser, from the Scottish Highlands, has displayed that consistency, with a shortlist or better in all 10 rounds. But her climb to the top spot has been dramatic! Thanks to her 5th place in Round 1, and shortlists in every round from 2 to 8, she was in 11th place with two rounds to go. She has then wowed with a stunning second place image in Round 9 (Travel), and then finished with a strong 5th place in Round 10 (Open). With that she has leapfrogged the field and is this year’s deserving main prize winner. Nigel Atherton says “Lynn has impressed us all throughout the year with her work. She has avoided the most common travel cliches by visiting off-the-beaten-track places and her portraits of the people she met were made with skill and sensitivity. It’s no surprise that she scored points in every round. Congratulations to a deserving winner.”
There are quite a few photos to follow which means the post may appear as clipped or truncated in an email. To see the whole thing just press VIEW ENTIRE MESSAGE at the end of the email and you’ll see it in one. Or head to the online version.
Out of 50 entries, I had 18 either shortlisted or placed and I have shared those below.
OPEN
TRAVEL
DUSK TO DAWN
MACRO
PEOPLE
LANDSCAPES
ACTION
URBAN LIFE
ANIMAL KINGDOM
BLACK & WHITE
I’m incredibly proud of my achievement - one of those once in a lifetime moments that we all dream about but never expect to happen. A highlight in my photographic journey. It’s even impressed my sons!
If you would like to read a bit more about the competition and the results, Amateur Photographer has a couple of articles on its website: Amateur Photographer of the Year 2024 winners revealed! and Minimalist photograph takes top spot in Amateur Photographer competition (this article refers to the Open Round and showcases the top ten entries - the winning image is fabulous so it’s worth checking out).
you have all the reasons to be proud! congratulations!
Lynn, this honestly does not surprise me at all--every one of your photos transports me, they are truly wonderful (and wonderfully diverse, too!). Many congratulations on this well-deserved title!