By Isle of Wight Observer
The Quarr Abbey photography exhibition presented awards for its photographic competition, held in partnership with the IW Observer, on Wednesday evening, starting with a welcome speech from the Abbott of Quarr, Fr. Xavier.
Organiser, Tracy Osborn said: “We were so pleased with the amount of entries we had. There were so many of such a high standard; it was very difficult to choose the winners.
We would like to thank everyone that entered and shared their glimpse of Quarr with us.”
The competition prizes were then announced and distributed. Winner Mick Harris has been a keen photographer for around 40 years, with a focus on wildlife and the “occasional bit of macro”.
When asked what made him enter the competition, Mick quipped: “My wife! She’d seen one of my pictures on my computer, and she said: ‘Enter them!’“
Runner up, Scarlett Barrington-Smythe, said: “I started taking photographs with my grandad when I was about six. He taught me how to do photography with old film, and he used to teach me about perspective and light. I got my passion from him really, and then I carried it on myself.
“I was in my sickbed attaching photographs and managed to get them sent off at twenty to midnight. I just sent it in and hoped for the best. I love both portrait and landscape photography, animals, flowers, macro… anything that unlocks a little secret for me where I can see a different perspective.
“I have ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), so for me it’s a way of being in the moment and celebrating beauty, taking away pain and difficulties where I can concentrate on creating beautiful things. It just takes your mind off it.”
The other runner up, Josh Thomas, has been practising photography as a hobby for seven years, as he started it at school for GCSE: “I visit quite a lot of nature reserves; I do landscape, mostly wildlife. I love the red squirrels,” he said.
The presentations by the Island’s High Sheriff, Dawn Haig-Thomas, was followed with a tour of the exhibition of pictures of Quarr Abbey, covering from when it was first built until today. The exhibition, Quarr Abbey – A Photographic Journey is open until January 30 from 10am until 4pm each day. Entry is free.
