Peter gets Published

Peter in the Lower Sixth has recently had his work published in Outdoor Photography, one of the leading magazines in the UK dedicated to capturing wildlife, nature and landscapes. The photograph in question, was selected for the magazine’s monthly contest which asks readers to submit their images in response to a set theme. Every month, photographers from around the world do so and a few of the absolute finest are printed. Peter was delighted to find out, on his third attempt, that his winter wonderland scene had made the cut.

Photography is an interest that Peter has pursued for six years, something he describes as “the one hobby that I think I’ll never abandon and has become a large part of me.” He continued “I enjoy capturing nature and telling stories of beautiful sceneries and animals through my photos. For the most part, I focus on landscape photography and do some wildlife alongside. I love to travel for my photography, be it to new and distant countries or just constantly exploring the surroundings of my countryside.”

In Outdoor Photography, Peter, describes the scene behind his image, “Following a very snowy night in the Slovakian High Tatras mountains, I woke up to find a winter wonderland, all white, covered in fresh powdery snow and frost. This scenery is overlooking one of the larger mountain lakes in the area, with the painterly composition of trees near the frozen bank. As it was still snowing at the time, I had to constantly hide my camera under my jacket as I walked the landscape.”

However, a much bigger success for Peter took place last year, when he was one of five photographers to be awarded the title of Young Photographer of the Year in Outdoor Photography’s international contest. Peter noted, “This was an incredible achievement for me, as there were over 20,000 other competing photographers from around the world.”

The adage ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ could not be truer of his entry. Cycling along a local lake with the hope of snapping the nature at sunset, Peter spotted a piece of polystyrene floating along its edge, slowly approaching, with none other than small plants growing on its surface!

Speaking of his discovery, Peter commented “I was rather surprised and knew I had to take an image conveying the message: nature finds a way. I felt this photo had much more to offer than just the pretty sunset and soft green colours. With the fading light and moving subject I had no time to set up a tripod, so I quickly changed lenses and set my aperture, leaving the shutter speed to be handled by the camera.”

In addition to his exposure in a renowned photography magazine, Peter’s work has graced the cover of his hometown’s local publication ‘Ivanské Novinky’ or ‘Invansky News’, in Slovakia. The image of his town that was taken with a drone, not only won its place as a commissioned piece of work, in response to a competition asking for the best ‘visions’ of the town, but will also see other images of Peter’s, make their way onto calendars and postcards. The more artistic shots currently reside in his local gallery for people to admire.

Academic scholar, Peter, has even been able to combine his strengths in science with creativity. “Another kind of photography that I really enjoy is astrophotography. That’s a completely different discipline really, very technical and time intensive, with hours long exposures and great precision and finesse required. To this, I am able to incorporate my love for physics and maths and was able to do my own amateur scientific research.” He reflected.

Taking his project to new heights, Peter’s astrophotography last year caught the attention of the chief editor at American magazine, Amateur Astronomy. Peter’s images and self-conducted research have since been published across four pages of the publication, making Peter their youngest contributor ever.

Peter is eager to return to the Park, where he hopes to employ his drone and undertake the monumental project of 3D mapping it’s 65 acres! He is currently working on an online portfolio to showcase his best work and has spoken about his interest in running a photography hobby as he enters the Upper Sixth.

Mark Wood, Head of Art, enthused “Having a photographer’s eye is something quite special and a gift that Peter clearly has. An ability to capture the sublime in a split second requires the photographer to be aware of their surroundings and appreciate what others might miss. It is wonderful to think that such a young talent like Peter can find these moments of stillness and beauty in a world often saturated by throw away, fast rolling images. An inspiration to us all.”