Weather Photographer of the Year 2022 Winners Announced

The Royal Meteorological Society has announced the 2022 winners of its popular, annual Weather Photographer of the Year competition in association with AccuWeather. Christopher Ison’s dramatic photo, ‘Storm Eunice’, taken in Newhaven in the UK last year, has taken the title prize. The photograph led a celebration of talented photographers of all ages from all around the world, capturing weather and climate in their most vivid forms.

Of a shortlist of 22 images chosen from entries representing 119 countries, ‘Storm Eunice’ was selected as the overall winner by an esteemed international panel of judges.

Christopher said:

“When the storm was predicted, and it was carrying the first ever red warning for the south coast, I knew I had to find a spot to record it – this was going to be big! I got there reasonably early to find many photographers already drenched in rain and seawater, standing very close to the harbour wall. I decided to head to high ground and slightly further away with my back to the weather. I was rewarded with a set of images I’m very proud of.”

What the judges commented they loved about this photo is the power of nature, reminding us how small and insignificant we are as it conveys the dramatic movement and force of the sea together with the resistance offered by a man-made building. The detail in the giant wave with face-like structures penetrating from the water gives it an almost mystical feel.

Young Weather Photographer of the Year

Supported by The Week Junior Science+Nature

The Young Weather Photographer of the Year 2022 was awarded to Eris Pil, from Pennsylvania in the US, who turned 17 this week!

Her photo entitled ‘Mammatus Sunset’ was taken on a Google Pixel 3 phone, and Eris said:

“the sky was completely lit up in a way I had never seen before, like these beautiful backlit watercolour clouds, displaying these spectacular mammatus clouds overhead. I love mammatus clouds; this was my first time ever witnessing them. I hope I have the opportunity to see them again, and I’m excited to share what they look like with others”.

The judges commented that Eris had done exceptionally well in capturing this extraordinary image of a rare and magnificent meteorological phenomenon that can be difficult to photograph. The judges loved how the beautiful shapes of the clouds were picked out in the dying light of the sunset. The lighting of this scene is outstanding and makes the clouds look like pearl barley floating in the sky. There were a lot of photos of Mammatus clouds across all categories, but these stood out as amazing, and the judges were unanimous in their decision.

The Public Favourite

Weather Photographer of the Year 2022 (Mobile Phone)

In the second year of this competition category, the outstanding quality of entries meant that the judges decided to combine the top images with the main category to form the public vote. However, the judges were left in no doubt that the mobile phone winner should be Aung Chan Thar from Myanmar with ‘Sunset’.

Following an overcast and rainy evening, the sun appeared through the clouds and mist just in time for Aung to capture this beautiful sunset photo. Aung said, “Due to the sun, the pagoda became brighter”.

The judges commented that the way the quality of the light affects the atmosphere is just lovely, and the metallic golds and yellows are carried on into the sky beautifully. The rising mists enhance the atmosphere around the road and the golden globe structure in the foreground. The sun disappearing behind the clouds also seems to form an interesting planetary relationship with the globe that adds to this late evening scene.

 

The Runners Up (decided by Judging Panel)

Weather Photographer of the Year

• 2^nd Place: Zhenhuan Zhou from Toronto, Canada – Frozen
• 3^rd Place: Emili Vilamala Benito from Barcelona, Spain – Ghost Under the Cliff   

Young Weather Photographer of the Year

• Runner up: Shreya Nair (age 14) from India – Tyndall Effect

Weather Photographer of the Year (Mobile Phone)

• Runner up: Vince Campbell from Penrith, UK – Scotch Mist   

The winners were announced on Thursday, 6 October at 6 pm (BST) on the Royal Meteorological Society’s Instagram channel (rmets_).

All the winners and finalists can now be seen on the RMetS website: www.rmets.org/photography

The calendar featuring all the winners and finalists of Weather Photographer of the Year 2022 is now on pre-sale via the RMetS online shop.

 

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