James Hardisty
Yorkshire Post Newspapers
The three images I have entered show my high level of technical skill, creativeness, and ability to react quickly under pressure which was certainly needed for each of these assignments. My first image was taken for a feature with Lost Earth Adventures, a company that arranges packed activities for cavers, climbers, bikers, paddlers, and ramblers all across the UK. This image of owner Richard Goodey, shows him stopping to admire the amazing internal cave structure of the Valley Entrance which leads to the Kingsdale Master Cave near Ingleton in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. In order to take this image we had to first scramble through a narrow tunnel in darkness with only a headlight, before entering this first chamber. Once inside there was a strong feeling of being vulnerable underground. All you could hear was the frequent echo of water falling to the cave floor, forming crystal clear puddles. I thought a reflection showing the labyrinth of the cave structure could work well. I proceeded to set up remote flash guns in the cave in order to light the cave and achieve a magnificent reflection of Richard, and the depth of this natural structure deep under the Yorkshire Dales, a place you definitely don't want to be without having proper supervision from a highly qualified instructor. My Second image was taken in Hull, of The Arctic Corsair, a deep-sea trawler, built in 1960, that was converted to a museum ship in 1999. The vessel was temporarily berthed in dry dock at Dunston’s shipyard on William Wright Dock in Hull as she starts her restoration project. I photographed Ken Knaggs, a water blaster and painter for Dunston's Ship Repairs Ltd based in Hull as he starts the mammoth task of power-washing the whole hull of The Arctic Corsair, whilst in dry dock, before the restoration work could go ahead. This was an incredibly hard image to take in order to get the exposure right due to the glorious weather topside and the darkness of the drydock. The exposure was miles apart. I had to balance the light-out to retain the colour in the sky and also record the work being carried out by Ken, as he power-washes around the propeller. My third and final image was taken during The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II. The image shows HRH Princess Anne heading towards Westminster Abbey for the start of the state funeral as she travels along The Mall in London, an area lined with Union Jack flags I managed to capture the reflection of one of the flags across the window of her car, as she appears to be in deep thought about the day ahead. This was one of those images never to be captured again, once in a lifetime on a hugely historical day for the UK and the world. James Hardisty Senior Photographer (M) 07710361117 @snapperjim