The 2026 Wainwright Society Photographic Competition
All Society members are invited to enter this year’s Photographic Competition, which this year will be judged by a panel made up of Society Committee members and our competition organiser, Sherrie Farnsworth.
The rules for the 2026 competition are as follows:
The competition is open to members paid up for 2026 and still paid-up members at the time of the Society’s AGM in March 2027. Honorary members can also enter.
Society members can enter one or both of the following two categories, submitting either ONE or TWO photographs in each category. So, a maximum of only FOUR photographs may be submitted if both categories are entered.
The two categories are:
(a) Wainwright Country – the subject of the submitted photographs should relate to areas that Wainwright was associated with in his guidebooks i.e. Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Howgill Fells, Pennines and Coast to Coast Walk. Entries will also be accepted into this category if they are closely associated with his Sketchbooks such as the Pennines, Scotland and Wales.
(b) British Landscapes – the subject of the submitted photographs may relate to anywhere in the British Isles and should capture the beauty of our British countryside.
The photographs should be the member’s own work. Entries must not have won any competition prize previously and should have been taken within the three years up to the closing date below.
- Image editing. You may enter images that have been cropped to improve composition, or had spots, scratches or other blemishes removed. You can have worked on the colour or enhanced the image for the sake of the composition.
- By entering the competition, you grant the Wainwright Society the non-exclusive right to publish and exhibit your photographs in Footsteps magazine, on social media, in the Calendar, and on the Society’s website in perpetuity.
- Each photograph must have a title, and photographs should be submitted in digital format only to the email: photocompetition@wainwright.org.uk
A confirmation of receipt will be emailed to everyone who submits entries. Members should follow this up if the confirmation of receipt email has not been received within two weeks.
The submitted email with photographs must include the member’s name, membership number, the titles of the photographs, the date and location they were taken, and the category they are to be entered into.
- A Winner and Runner-Up will be chosen for each of the two categories. Individual members can only be awarded a prize in ONE of the categories.
- Entries must be submitted by email by close of Sunday 31 January 2027. Any email received after this cut-off point will not be considered for inclusion in the competition.
Prizes will be awarded as follows:
Wainwright Country Category:
The Winner will receive a framed print of their winning photograph, a certificate, an item of Wainwright Society merchandise, and will be given the opportunity to join the judging panel in the Wainwright Country Category in next year’s competition, if they would like to do so.
The Runner-Up will receive a framed print of their photograph and a certificate.
British Landscapes Category:
The Winner will receive a framed print of their winning photograph, a certificate, and an item of Wainwright Society merchandise.
The Runner-Up will receive a framed print of their photograph and a certificate.
A Highly Commended Certificate may be awarded at the discretion of the judges, arising:
- in the event of a chosen photograph being ineligible to win a category by virtue of the member having already won or been runner-up in another;
- in the event of a close tie between two or more photographs;
- in any circumstance where judges wish to reward distinctive merit.
Good luck to all members entering this year’s competition!