A memorable moment
Jeff Overs, a photographer here at BBC News, has won first prize in the features category of The Press Photographers Year competition which showcases the outstanding press photographs taken for and used by the UK media.
The image of Battersea Power Station (above) was one of 7,877 photographs entered from which 146 pictures made the final cut in 16 categories.
I asked Jeff to explain how he came to take the picture, he said:
"It was a memorable moment because I had a road accident at that location. I had seen the 'English garden' hoarding before, but always on grey days, and had thought to myself that I would stop sometime when it was sunny.
"That day (a year ago this week) I was driving past and saw the cumulus clouds and blue sky - so I indicated and filtered into the right turn lane. Suddenly a white delivery van hurtled over the slight hill behind me and came smashing into the back of my car, shunting me along the street and causing quite a bit of damage to my vehicle.
"After the exchange of details, and having photographed the accident as evidence (it was his fault by the way) I decided to stay a while and photograph the view across the road.
"I saw the jogger coming into view so put on a polarizing filter and took the picture shown, all the while standing next to my damaged car by the pavement. I waited a while and took others but this was the best frame. If I hadn't been in slight shock from the RTA I might have stuck around longer!
"The effect of the polarizing filter added to the surreal hoarding image with repeating topiary garden pattern makes it look like a composite Photoshop image - it isn't!"
I offer my congratulations to Jeff and the other winners. You can see the winning pictures on the PPY website or they are on display at the National Theatre in London until 31 August.
I'm 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~58~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
Quality.
Love the way some of the clouds look like smoke from the stacks.
Complain about this comment
Sorry, but that's rubbish. Why on Earth did that win a prize? It's not interesting or even pleasant to look at. Old school tie?
Complain about this comment
BA5H it down!
Complain about this comment
Hummm, has this photographer forgotton the rule of thirds (on the runner), or is it just a pretentious photographer ignoring the rules? Personnaly I think the runner should have been further over to the right with room to run into the picture. Also a blue fluffy sky really is naff! Also it looks like the detail has been lost in the stacks. Sorry for my negative comments, but I would have thought a professional competition would have weeded these sort of problems out.
Complain about this comment
I think picture is amazing. I appreciate that it may not be perfect but surely these things are about having that special something about them and not being a photography expert I would say this has it. Sometimes it helps to have an untrained eye!!
Complain about this comment
clearly it was a polarising filter, given the reactions!
Complain about this comment
the rules of thirds, 'fluffiness clouds' etc melarky
f8 and be there.
its a great surreal _moment_ that had to be captured.
Complain about this comment
I actually took the exact same picture this weekend while in the Duchess pub which is right behind the photographer, and promptly chucked it for being rubbish!
Perhaps if this chap could see properly he wouldn't have crashed his car! Staggered that this has won anything!
Complain about this comment
Rule of thirds? Rules aren't there to be slavishly followed they are there as a guide. Personally I thinks the picture works very well indeed, its a record of an unusual situation and the runner seems to act like the pivot point in a balance. Using the rule of thirds would have produced an inferior picture.
Complain about this comment
I love this picture.
The 'rule of thirds' comment is nonsense - didn't you read the article? It was a spur of the moment image.
Plus photography shouldn't be bound by rules - why would you try to capture a moment whilst adhering to rules? Such restrictions only hinder your images and the passion they emit.
I like it because it creates the image of the jogger being in her own little world and temporarily free from a harsh reality, demonsrated by the factory in the background.
Complain about this comment
Those who bleat on about the rule of thirds seem to forget that the rule of thirds is a guideline, not necessarily a requirement.
I think Jeff has captured a fantastic image here... It is very odd, and yes, like someone else pointed out, some of the clouds do look like smoke from the stacks.
Well done Jeff. I like it.
Complain about this comment
Whilst the image is quirky it's not an original idea. A very similar photo was featured in the shortlist for the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2007. In that case it was a cyclist not a runner. If you have a copy of the portfolio for that competition turn to page 170... I would go as far as to say it's almost identical.
The portfolio in question is here http://tinyurl.com/lvz5k2
As for the rule of thirds... rules were meant to be broken.
Complain about this comment
It's a very complete image of universal understanding, I like when no need for comments.
Complain about this comment
Let's be honest. Its nothing special. Can't quite see how it won a competition.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS