Winning for the 3rd time is no easy feat, The Guild had over 13,000 images submitted over the course of the year, and some amazing images at that, so to win again in 2018 is absolutely incredible.

Not only did I win Photographer Of The Year but I also won the 'All Round' Photographer Of The Year which is the person with the highest points in any 2 catagories, and i also won the Open catagory. i did also come 11th in the People catagory, which isnt my strong side so i was incredibly happy with that.

During the awards weekend that was held at the stunning Crewe hall, I also gave my maiden talk, 'the Life of an I.O.M Junkie' (Image Of the Month) this was in front of my peers and having never done any public speaking i was crazy nervous, but it ssems to have been very well recieved. the talk was about competition submissions from my perspective, along with a bit of my journey. Everyone seemed to be awake at the end so that was a bonus!

My lovely lady was there when I received my awards and Im incredibly grateful to have such an amazingly supportive partner, she puts up with a lot!

You'd think it would be an easy task but noooooo...... there are a mass of tripods on the market and due to a lack of shops you're totally dependant on doing your homework on the internet, which isn't easy and you could so easily buy the wrong thing.

The name Benro was mentioned by a couple of people and it wasn't a name that i was familiar with but researching on line they did seem to do a good range of tripods and i eventually (after a few months of indecisiveness) purchased their TMA27C as it seemed to tick all of my boxes plus there was the bonus that it could also be made into a monopod, not that i've tried that yet.

Have to say, i haven't been disappointed at all, its incredibly light coming in at just under one and a half Kg, but its surprisingly sturdy with my set up which is a Canon 1dxii with 500 f4 lens and i love how quick you can extend and retract the legs. It comes with two interchangeable centre columns but i tend to just use the very short one. It all came in a very nice bag and also some spiked feet should you need them.

I got mine from Wex Photographic as they had it on offer and have to say that I think it offered good value for money, certainly compared to the other brand that i nearly went for.

Highly recommended!

'Among other things the Guild is about positivity, support, inspiration and learning. Determination and drive are very important too if we are to succeed at whatever we do.

Life can be a roller coaster journey with its ups and downs, especially if you enter the IOM! (Image Of the Month)

This person is not in business as a photographer but they love the Craft, and that reflects in their attitude to photography and developing their skills.

They joined the Guild only a few years ago and grasped every training opportunity they could, looking and learning from the inspirational. They have challenged and questioned things pushing themselves with huge determination, getting up from any personal lows, dusting themselves off and using them to further fuel their drive.

A few years later whilst their drive to learn more and push themselves further is still there, THEY are now the inspirational, and behind the scenes we know they push and motivate others.

Only around 100 people have achieved membership of the Photographers Bar since we started it and only one person has achieved it every year – haven’t you Mark Lynham! ( at this point i fell off my chair in disbelief!)

Not only that, he has won many Gold awards, and has been the Runner-Up in the Open Category for the last 2 years. Today he not only won the section – He became the Guild’s Photographer of the Year and a Craftsman too!

Mark, we want to salute you, your drive and determination.

You are proof that within the Guild the more you put in the more you will get out.

Congratulations on an incredible year for you!'

Im an avid entrant in to the Guilds monthly Image Of The Month competition and their annual Photographer Of The Year competition and have been very close to winning it over the last couple of years and I'm incredibly pleased to say that not only did i win their 'Open' category  for 2016 but also won the overall 'Photographer Of The Year for 2016'!!
 

My awards for the evening were;

• overall Photographer Of The Year for 2016 
• overall winner of the 'Open' category (one of the 4 categories that can be entered)
• achieved the level of Craftsman status, having submitted a panel of 12 printed images and 36 digital images
• runner up Image Of The Year 'members choice'
• runner up Image Of The Year in the Urban category  
• runner up Image Of The Year in the Action category  
• 5th year of attaining The Photographers Bar, the only Guild member to do this since it has been running
• and finally i was incredibly humbled to receive a 'Special Achievement' award for my efforts and commitment to the competition over the years that I have been entering them.

Here are the images that i entered throughout the year and the awards that were given to them..

and here i am receiving my "Photographer Of The Year' award from Steve and Lesley Thirsk, The Guilds owners and some bloody lovely people too.

From the Guilds handbook...'Our 'Craftsman' status is, as one would imagine, aligned to the exacting standards of a true 'Craftsman'. Therefore to attain this level we add an increasing level of professional critique to evaluate our members work. In other words we get increasingly 'fussy' and look in minute detail at all the elements of photographic understanding. Those that achieve this accolade have demonstrated the finest technical skills and an exceptional creative and artistic 'eye'.'

I submitted my panel to the judges over the weekend that they hold their annual awards and I'm incredibly pleased to say that i passed!!

Here is my panel of 12 images that i had to get printed and mounted

Here are the images printed and mounted, in my lounge, for a quick check before wrapping and taking for submission..
and here are all 36 images that i submitted..

Finally,  here i am receiving my Craftsman Qualification at the Guilds annual awards evening!

Im incredibly proud of this achievement and will now work towards my Master Craftsman qualification as i believe that you need to keep pushing yourself.

Theres a few boat companies at the harbour but for us there is only one to use and thats Serenity, the guy that owns it, Andrew, is so passionate about the sea life that you never know where he will take you if he spots something. He has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/serenity.boats?fref=ts

Anyway, heres a selection of photos that i took on our few trips that we took out, some were taken on Inner Farne itself whilst a lot of the others are taken on the tour that Andrew gives around the Farne Islands.

One thing the Farne islands are known for is its Puffins, so if you ever want somewhere to go to photograph these beautiful and fascinating birds then this is your place, although June and July are the times you need to go.

Serenity is certainly the boat I would recommend for the island tours, Andrew is fantastic and is always on the look out while on the tour. While there we had the joy of seeing a couple of Harbour Porpoise, but the one day we missed the boat trip with Serenity, Andrew spotted a Minky Whale.... gutted!

This was my first time of seeing a Tern up close and as you got off the boat there were hundreds of them. They were also guarding their young so as you walked past they would fly down and peck your head!

These last few are of a Puffin who was posing on the edge of a cliff with a beak full of Sand eels, i reckon he was there for around half an hour posing for all the photographers.

I do hope that you've enjoyed looking at these images. 

Here i am being presented with my award by the owners of The Guild, Steve and Lesley Thirsk. (and bloody lovely people they are too!)

Below are the images that won the awards throughout the year in the Open Category, and as you can see they are quite varied. Most of the animal  shots are taken at Whipsnade Zoo which is a place that i just love to visit.

The following are images that won awards in the People category.

The hours were spent in an apartment in Central Milton Keynes and i was really made to think about light, colours and making the most out of small areas. Consideration was also given to clothing and make up for the model. On and off camera flash was used as either fill light or accent light and this what i needed to learn.

Below are some shots that i got from the time spent with Andrew and Zara, and to be honest I didn't expect to get as many as i did. In fact at the time of writing i have just been given a Front Page Image with PurplePort, a modelling site.

To achieve this i had to submit 21 images and a written piece (that was fun!).. 

In the words of The Guild, a 'Qualified Status' is only awarded to photographers who have met its exacting standards and have evidenced a good standard of photography.

Here are the images that i submitted..

I also went along the morning after to see some of the cars being taken away. the noise was incredible!

I hope you enjoy these photos.

http://marklynham.zenfolio.com/p1061996507

http://marklynham.zenfolio.com/p362759701