29 February 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113PLACINGasrunner-upwasnoeasyfeat
consideringthecompetitionfroma high
numberof othertalentedphotographers,
eachwiththeirowninterestingtakeon
thebursary’sthemeof ‘Change’.
Matt’sintriguingprojectaimedto
explorea varietyof differentchanges
acrossandwithintheUSA,retracingthe
stepsof RobertFrank’sseminalwork‘The
Americans’.Hewantedtoshowthe
changeswhichhavetakenplacesince
Frank’smasterpiecewaspublishedin
1958,butalsothechangesthatexistand
occurbetweentheUSA’sdifferentstates,
townsandcities– anditspeoples.
In theend,it wasthisscaleof ambition
forMatt’sprojectthatwasitsundoing.
Thebursaryfunding,andsupport,is due
tolastforoneyearandthejudgesfeltthat
hisprojectwouldbebettersuitedtoa
multi-yearapproach.However,suchwas
thequalityof hisportfolio– andproposal- thatMPBhasgenerouslyofferedto
supportMattwitha loanof second-hand
kittohelpwithhisupcomingprojects.
JudgePeterDenchsaid,‘It wasthe
ambitionof Matt’sproposalthatpiqued
myinterestandtheenergyanddiversity
of his portfolio that made him a
contender.Heis clearlydedicatedto
photographyandhisworkmotivational.
Matthasa maturityandtechnical
capabilitythatdefiestherelativelyshort
timehehasbeenworkingin themedium.’
Matthimselfsaid,‘I washonouredto
makeit intosecondplacein the
competitionandverygratefultothestaff
atAmateurPhotographerforlettingme
knowthatI camesoclose.I wasobviously
disappointedthatI didn’twinbut
understandandsupportthedecision
madebyAPandMPB.
‘Myproposalwasveryambitiousanda
lotof trustwouldhaveneededtobeput
in metoproducesucha largebodyof
workwithina limitedtimeframe.
‘I willstilltrytocompletetheproject,it
willjustrequiresomemoretimeand
carefulfinancialplanningin ordertodoso.
‘Myhopeis thatthecompetitionwillrun
againnextyearandI cancomebackwith
a freshproposalthatimpressesthejudges
enoughtowin.’
Weknowthatthiswon’tbethelastwe
seeof Mattin thepagesof themagazine- butin themeantime,youcanvisit
mattwalkley.photography to see more of
his great work.
RisingStarRunner-upMatt WalkleyMattWalkleyworksin the
manufacturingindustry,
buthasbeenpursuing
photographyatan
amateurlevel for the past
six years
About MPB
MPBis thequick,easyand
securewaytobuyandsell
usedcameraequipment.
MostoftheMPBstaffare
cameraenthusiasts
themselves.In a vast
warehousein Brighton,MPB
productspecialistscheck,
photographandcatalogue
eachitembeforeaddingit
forpurchaseonits
user-friendlywebsite.
Photographerswhoare
lookingtobuy,sellortrade
cameraequipmentcanvisit
MPBatwww.mpb.com.
Above:Matthadseveralvery
stronglandscape images in
his portfolioBelow:Mattis alsoa keen
streetphotographer, as
shown here