Staffordshire photographer snaps up top national prize with scenic Iron Bridge hot air balloon shot
A Stafford-based photographer has snapped up a national award for his photo of Shropshire's famous Iron Bridge.
Ian Knight, who runs Z70 Photography, picked up the British Photography Awards' top prize in the architecture category.
The winning image, given the title Circle Of Hot Air, was taken in Ironbridge during Telford's annual Balloon Fiesta in 2021.
The event sees the region's skies filled with hot air balloons of all shapes and sizes.
The award was presented to Mr Knight at a black tie ceremony held at London's Dorchester Hotel on Friday.
Mr Knight has been an amateur and semi-professional photographer for many years and has won other national and international awards.
This was his first win at the British Photography Awards, having been on the shortlist last year.
The awards aim to celebrate the best of British photography and help raise money for charity.
Mr Knight said that his winning image was one of the few times that a planned shot had worked perfectly.
He had checked the wind conditions for the balloons launching from Telford and knew they would be heading towards Ironbridge.
"The river was quite low due to some hot summer days and the gentle wind meant the water’s surface was like a mirror giving a fantastic reflection of the bridge," Mr Knight said.
"The wind conditions were great for the water but meant the balloons took quite a while to get from Telford Town Park to the Ironbridge and I had an anxious wait wondering if I had read the conditions correctly.
"Eventually the balloons started to appear and this one hot air balloon drifted into the perfect place to take the shot."
Mr Knight said it was amazing to be recognised in this way and thanked his wife Fiona for "putting up with me always heading off out to the Shropshire and Staffordshire countryside to try and capture the beauty of both these wonderful counties".
