Awarded to the single highest scoring image entered into the landscape category of competition. Entrants may enter multiple images in this category.
Accolades in this category
- Winner
- Runner up
- Highly commended
- Commended
What are we looking for?
We are looking for natural, unspoilt views of the Scottish landscape that (where possible) do not include any human elements. Where images do contain human elements, they should not be the main subject of the image or be posed. (e.g. an image of a castle being the main subject would be moved to another category)
Criteria permitted for this category
You may submit:
- Inland views of Scotland
- Natural landscapes
- Castles**, bothies & ruins
- Treescapes, forests and woodland
- Mountains and glens
- Lochs and rivers
** Where a castle is inhabited (i.e. a private residence) or charges a fee to enter, there may be intellectual property or privacy rights where photographs are concerned. Entrants should check with the relevant owners and seek permission before entering the competition.
Criteria not permitted for this category
Entrants should not submit
- Urban, town or village views
- Seascapes or sea views
- Images where animals have been enticed into the scene by feeding/baiting
- Images taken within the boundaries of farm fields that have growing crops, flower margins, are ploughed or sown**
- Images of Military, Naval or Airforce bases, vehicles, ships, aircraft or uniformed personnel
- Images of schools or playgrounds
** The right to roam in Scotland allows for photography of and on farmland, however, during growing seasons, photographers may be committing an offence by entering any live field to conduct photography.
Acceptable media
Images may be captured on digital, film or any alternative photographic process but must be submitted in digital format.
Preliminary judging stages – all images to be submitted in JPG format, maximum 2000px on the long side, 72ppi Adobe.
Final round judging stage – RAW and/or original JPGs will be required.
Digital Adjustments and Processing
Digital adjustments are allowed for this category but the integrity of the subject must be maintained. In other words, digital adjustments may be used to make corrections and basic enhancements such as balancing shadows and highlights, removing artefacts etc. Digital adjustments should not be used in a way that alters the subject – e.g. adding/removing items, over-saturation, using plugins to add artificial sunlight, mist etc.
Converting digital images to black and white is permitted.
Respecting the landscape & the right roam.
We respectfully ask that when taking your images you show care for the environment and respect the interests of others. When out and about taking your photographs for the competition, we ask that you abide by the Scottish Country Access Code. Links to the Country Code are listed below.
Trespass Laws & SOAC
Photographers should be aware that Trespass is an offence in Scotland