York photographer David Ormerod wins Heritage category in Postcards From The Park photo competition (From York Press)

York photographer David Ormerod wins Heritage category in Postcards From The Park photo competition

10:55am Friday 11th September 2009

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YORK photographer David Ormerod’s picture of Rowntree Park has been chosen as the Heritage category winner of the nationwide Postcards From The Park photo competition.

“Winning the wildlife category is a great thrill and will encourage me to get out and take even more photos of my local park,” says David.

“Each morning I walk through Rowntree Park on my way to work in the city centre, and this gives me the chance to see the changes that come with the different seasons. I particularly enjoy looking out for the wildlife and composing future photos in my mind.”

His winning photo was on display at Southwark Park’s Café Gallery during the summer, and will be featured at the Gilstrap Centre, in Newark, in December.

“Seeing my photograph exhibited in a London gallery was a real source of pleasure for me,” says David.

The competition celebrates public parks, and specifically the £1.2 billion invested in parks and the environment by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund.

Now in its third year, the competition, organised in partnership with the parks charity GreenSpace, has encouraged thousands of people to capture what they love most about parks.

David’s picture, Caught In The Act, was taken last January when the Rowntree Park lake froze over.

“I initially went to photograph geese landing and subsequently skidding across the frozen water, but once there I noticed how the sign reflected in the ice creating a searchlight effect across it,” he recalls.

“I then just waited for a subject to walk into the ‘searchlight’; I must have sat in the bitter cold for about an hour before a black-headed gull obligingly walked its way across the ice and I managed to catch it at the perfect moment.”

His photo found favour with the judges, who included photographer Mike McCartney (brother of Paul), Angela Nicholson, from Amateur Photographer magazine, and Tim Kerr, of the Press Association.

A gallery of all the winning photos is available at postcardsfromthepark.org.uk