Interview with Photo Competition Winner Jamie Fielding

Emma Chaplin
, 06 November 2018
Interview with Photo Competition Winner Jamie Fielding
South Downs Sunrise © Jamie Fielding Sussex Wildlife Trust

Jamie Fielding, who has won our 2018 online photography competition with a stunning landscape image of a poppy field called South Downs Sunrise, tells us a bit about himself and how he came to take the winning photograph. 

Are you local?

Yes, born and bred in Sussex. I now live in Angmering. You can’t live in this part of the world without appreciating what’s around us. You turn one way and see the sea, the other, and there are the Downs. It’s a lovely place.

 When did you develop an interest in photography? 

After my dad died in 2014, it gave me something to focus on. He was a local man too, and he loved wildlife. I have fond memories of cycle rides and walks over the Downs and around Storrington.  

Tell us about how you came to take the winning photograph.

It was taken around 4.30am in early summer up on the Downs, overlooking the Arun Valley. I had my Nikkon D750, full frame, 24 megapixel camera and I’d planned the shot carefully. There had been clear skies the night before, so it was no accident that there was mist in the valley. There was a tight, ten minute window to get the shot. This poppy field could be seen for miles around. A good photo can sometimes come from being in the right place at the right time, but I like to plan my landscape photographs. It was shot in raw format and edited in Lightroom. 

What qualities do you need to be a good photographer? 

You need to have an eye. You have to ‘see’ something different and want to bring that to life.

What kind of pictures do you most enjoy taking? 

I’ve mostly done landscapes, but I like to push myself, so my next challenge is wildlife.

Where in the world would you most like to take your camera? 

Iceland and New Zealand.

Who is your photographic hero? 

There are some great photographers from the South of England on Instagram. I love Rachael Talibart. Her 'Sirens' work, capturing the personalities of waves off the coast at Newhaven, is amazing. She has a creative eye and the ability to tell a story with her photography. 

Is there one well known photo you wish you’d taken? 

I like the 'stoat on the woodpecker' photo from a couple of years ago.

These two images, both by Jamie, were runner-up and winner, in previous years' photo competitions: 

(c) Jamie Fielding Dawn Fire (2)

Cissbury Sunset (winner 2016)

(c) Jamie Fielding Dawn Fire (1)

Dawn Fire (runner-up 2017)

Jamie F

Jamie Fielding and friend

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Comments

  • Bernie Newnham:

    Congratulations on beautiful picture South Downs Surprise. Please let me know if prints will be on sale. Well done.

    12 Nov 2018 21:47:00

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