Photographers went chasing Teesdale's waterfalls for competition

THE winners of a photo competition, launched to coincide with an acclaimed art installation, have been announced and the standard of entries praised.
People from across the county have visited Steve Messam’s Waterfall art show near Bowlees. Artist Mr Messam, who lives near Low Force, projected footage of the dale’s waterfalls on three whitewashed barns, wrapping them in “mesmerising slow motion pulses of water”. The art show, which finished at the weekend, celebrated the dale’s landscape.
The Teesdale Mercury joined with Mr Messam and the project’s funders, Durham County Council, to launch a competition seeking people’s photos of the dale’s waterfalls.
Mr Messam has now picked the top three entries. The winner, Anne Botterill, of Lartington, was praised for capturing the essence of Low Force with her stunning shot. She will receive a £25 voucher.
Nearly 100 people entered the competition from across the region. Mr Messam said: “The response has been great. There are some cracking pictures and it was good to see more than just the same three waterfalls too.”
Joint second place were Geoff King, of Startforth, who captured the icy falls near The Demesnes, and Mark Brownless, of Barnard Castle, who took an atmospheric night-time picture of Gibson’s Cave, in upper Teesdale.
Other highly commended entries were Chris Morse, for his picture of Bowlees Falls, and Michael Quincy’s picture of Low Force.
Mr Messam also said he was amazed by the reaction to his barn art installation.
He said: “We’ve had people coming from all over the UK as well as a good turn out locally. The atmosphere has been great too. Lots of smiling faces – lots of families and lots of strangers talking to each other. Just seeing the endless stream of torch light across the landscape each night has been fantastic.”