We find out a little bit more about the 2018 winner of the Lakeland Photography Prize from none other than the man himself, Matt Benham..

Hey Guys!

First of all I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Lakeland Photography Competition 2018! I really cannot thank you enough and I appreciate all of your support.

My name is Matt Benham and I am from Reading, Berkshire. I got into photography around two years ago when I bought the Canon 6D and my passion for photography grew from that moment on.

My favourite genre of photography is landscape; probably because I love adventuring, the great outdoors and finding new places to explore. I love the changing aspects and variations to landscapes too; with each different place and the changing photo opportunities throughout the seasons.

My camera bag for a trip to shoot landscapes consists of:

Canon 6D
Canon 6D Mark 2
16 - 35mm lens
70 - 200mm lens
ND and polarising filters
Spare batteries
Spare memory cards (ESSENTIAL - which I have forgotten many a time)
My sturdy Manfrotto tripod - helpful for windy trips

Thanks to my passion for landscape photography, I am very lucky to have been able to travel to some amazing places to take photos. My latest big trip to Iceland was a stand out experience as it is a landscape photographers playground, from mountains to black beaches, waterfalls to glaciers - and not to mention the dancing Northern Lights. There is so much to do and so much to photograph - what more could you wish for?

The Lake District was one of the first places I went to once I started to get into Landscape photography and I couldn’t have asked for a better location with so much to experience and to see. My latest trip was particularly special as I was able to find a location that I hadn’t seen photographed before which is where I took the winning image! The sheer amount of opportunities to shoot in the area definitely make the Lake District a fantastic place to go all year round and will continue to draw me back for more!

Planning for the future, I endeavour to continue to learn and adventure. I look forward to seeing where my photography takes me and to all of the places I am yet to explore. Once again thank you for your support.

You can see more of Matt's photography on Facebook & Instagram:

Facebook - @MJBPhotography

Instagram - @mattjbenham_photography