36 29 February 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
BACK in November, we launched our brand
new Rising Star Bursary. This unique chance
for amateur photographers to win an
incredible opportunity of a lifetime garnered
an extraordinary response.
We received many fantastic entries from
some supremely gifted photographers,
making it very diffi cult for the judges to pick
an overall winner.
The bursary prize consists of up to £5,000
towards expenses, along with technique,
motivational support and mentoring from a
professional photographer, as well as the
editorial team here at Amateur Photographer.
As partners, MPB will also be providing the
winning photographer with an ongoing
photography-kit loan from its extensive
supply of used gear.
This year, the theme of the bursary was
‘Change’ and we received many different
interpretations of this theme from a range of
different types of photographer.Meet the winner
We’re thrilled to announce that Graeme
Chesters, an amateur photographer based in
Bradford, is this year’s winner.
He impressed the judges enormously with
his proposed project to document a year in
the life of the northernmost town in the
world – Longyearbyen (which translates as
‘The Long Year’).
The town, located on the Island of
Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago, has
many fascinating characteristics that really
made Graeme’s project stand out.
Over the course of the next year, his
photography will examine the social andRising Star
Graeme Chesters
Dr Graeme Chesters is a
senior lecturer/associate
professor in Peace Studies
and International
Development at the
University of Bradford. In
his spare time he is an
amateur photographer –
see more of his work at
streetphoto.onlineSponsored by
ecological impacts of climate change on a
unique community of some 2,500 people,
aiming to document the ways in which this
diverse and constantly changing community
responds to the drama of seasonal as well as
climate change, including the three months ofBelow left: Graeme
plans to return to
the area four times
Below right: The
permanent dark of
winterALL PICTURES © GRAEME CHESTERS