Vapormatic announces the winners of the 2008 Photo Competition

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The Vapormatic Photo Competition, in association with Tractor and Machinery magazine, started back in February with the aim of stimulating people all over the world to grab their cameras, get out into the countryside and engage with rural activities. We were not disappointed. With over 900 entries from 5 continents featuring all different types of farming and countryside life we could not have hoped for a better response.

Up for grabs was a massive £2500 in Vapormatic vouchers to spend at their local Stockist.

Each runner up will receive £150 of vouchers
Each Category winner will receive £350 of vouchers
The Overall Winner will receive an extra £500 of vouchers

Below we have revealed the winners and runners-up in each of the four categories, as well as the overall winner of the competition.

Modern Farm Machinery

The Modern category is for machines produced after 1990. This was the most popular category by images submitted and combine harvesters seemed to be the order of the day. That didn't stop people sending in a wide variety of pictures.

Modern Winner

The judges liked the scale of this image and the way
the sky only serves to highlight the sheer size of the
Claas Lexion 570. Tommy Clarke revealed he is not
from the Farming industry but is a keen amateur
photographer:

"I was keen to see how a combine
worked, so the Laird of the Manor (in Stracathro, Scotland) 
was kind enough to take me down and show me how they
worked which I found fascinating".

Modern Runner-up

This striking image of the McCormick MC135 on a
starlit night really caught the attention of the judges.
The excellent lighting and clarity of image made this
a close runner-up. The photographer, Craig
Robertson, explains:

"I decided to photograph it out of it's usual habitat (i.e.
as a workhorse). To do this and to draw contrast to the
norm, I photographed it at night when it was peaceful,
quiet and static as apposed to being dirty and noisy".

Classic Farm Machinery

The Classic category is for machines produced from 1960 to 1989. With many tractors in this age bracket stuck in that unfortunate gap between farm workhorses and appreciating assets, many images featured machines ready for the breakers yard, and indeed some were there already!

Classic Winner

These two Internationals were snapped by David
Fenton as they took part at the South Croxton
Working Weekend, Leicestershire. In the foreground
we have the 1056XL, with the 634 (4WD) slightly
behind.
The judges from T&M felt that this image would make
an ideal magazine photograph; the positioning of the
tractors, the angle of the camera and composition of
the shot all make for a great image.

Classic Runner-up

In a surprise outcome, David also scooped the
runner-up spot for the category as well! The judging
took place without the judges knowing anything about
the people who entered, so David has taken a
whopping £500 in vouchers to spend at his nearest
Vapormatic Stockist. David commented:

"Thank you very much for choosing
my two photo's, that's fantastic, I can't believe it!" 

Vintage Farm Machinery

For machines produced before 1960. Many of the images submitted were of show tractors and ploughing matches and amongst these a few really stood out.

Vintage Winner

One of the most evocative images entered, the
moment that all whistles opened up on these engines
is captured by Howard Swaine. Taken in Stradbally, 
Ireland, the judges felt the human element to the
image really made it come alive for the viewer.

Vintage Runner-up

A classic ploughing shot done with particular style, the
out of focus background and sharp detailing made
this Super Dexta stand out from the crowd.
Graham Taylor explains,

"This was taken at Singleton open air museum last year
during a demonstration ploughing match".

Free Subject (with an agricultural or rural theme)

This Category was designed to capture rural scenes from around the globe, either showing farming practices not using machines or to simply show a fantastic picture of the countryside. We received hundreds of images for this Category and it gave people the opportunity to snap more than simply tractors or combines.

Free Subject Winner

The judges particularly liked this shot for the way the
track leads the viewer around the corner. They felt
the sense of mystery surrounding the destination of
the path with the high walls guiding you in made for
an excellent picture.

As Andrea explains, "I love walking in the Lake District,
I took the photo on "The Coffin Trail" in Cumbria".

Free Subject Runner-up

One of many images submitted from around the world,
this shot of two women processing paddy in Bangladesh
really stood out to the judges. Lit from behind, so
showing the dust, and the sense of motion in the
image really tells the story of what is happening here.

Mohammad Rakibul Hasan commented: "I am really
proud to be a runner up in this photo contest"

Overall Winner

The Overall Winner was chosen from the four winning images from each Category. The judges felt this well composed image really captured the moment the whistles blew in a way that you can almost hear the noise with the men.

Howard Swaine of Lucan, Co. Dublin, said upon winning the £850 worth of vouchers, "Thank you so much. I am delighted to have won these prizes for my photography!"

Thank you to all those who entered and congratulations to the winners. Tractor and Machinery will be running two features in the coming months; the November edition (out in October) will feature a range of highly commended entries. The December edition (out November) will showcase the winners.

Have your own opinions on who should have won? Why not contact us with you thoughts and we will add them to this site.