The allure of photography is its ability to transport you to different places.
It can even take you back in time, as is the case for some of the winning images in the 2023 Historic Photographer of the Year awards.
The contest – run by History Hit, the content platform founded by historian Dan Snow, and media network Little Dot Studios – calls on photographers to ‘explore and capture the very best historic sites that the world has to offer’. Judges look at originality, composition and technical skill alongside the story behind the image and its historical impact.
Among those to dazzle this year, out of 1,000 entries, is a medieval church on a tidal island, a charming steam train chugging through the countryside and a higgledy-piggledy street believed to be the inspiration behind Diagon Alley, as seen in the Harry Potter films.
Taking the crown as overall winner is Josh Dury for an eerie image of the Calanais Standing Stones in Scotland. Winning the Historic England category is Scott Macintyre’s image of the Windy Post Cross in Dartmoor. While George Anthony Fisk’s haunting image of Auschwitz, looking ‘in the direction from which the victims came’, takes first prize in the World History category.
Judge Claudia Kenyatta, Director of Regions at Historic England, said: ‘From famous castles to railways, lighthouses, and historic landscapes, it’s been an honour to judge this reflective and thought-provoking collection of images, championing both everyday heritage as well as famous landmarks, both in England and across the globe.’ Scroll down to see MailOnline Travel’s picks of the bunch, with Dury’s winning shot at the bottom.
Dartmoor’s Windy Post Cross is the setting for this breathtaking photo, taken by Scott Macintyre, which takes the top prize in the Historic England category. Claudia commented: ‘Wayside crosses are one of the distinctive features of Dartmoor, and this beautiful and atmospheric image captures brilliantly the way in which this ancient monument has become such an intrinsic part of Dartmoor’s historic landscape’
Steve Liddiard invites you to cast your eyes on St Cwyfan’s Church, a grade II-listed Medieval Church in Anglesey, Wales. His spellbinding photo of it is shortlisted in the World History category
Behold Castle an Dinas, one of the largest and most impressive hillforts in Cornwall, which dates dating back to the Iron Age, notes the Cornwall Heritage Trust. Colin Hart was behind the lens of this magnificent shot, which made the Overall Shortlist
This striking photo of an old mill house perched on an abandoned bridge over the River Seine in Vernon, France, was taken by Alan Barclay. It features on the World History Shortlist
This whimsical image, taken by Michael Steven Harris, shows a Bluebell Railway train chugging through the Sussex countryside. It makes the Historic England Shortlist and the Overall Shortlist
This powerful image shows Porthcawl Lighthouse in Bridgend, Wales, partly swallowed up by a colossal wave. The cast iron structure ‘was built in 1860, stands 30ft high and was gas-powered until 1997 when it was converted to electric’, according to Stay in Wales. The above photo, taken by Edyta Rice, is shortlisted in the World History category
A magical wintry scene at Hovingham Hall in North Yorkshire captured by Chris Cooper. The beautiful image makes the shortlist for the Historic England category
Glencoe, in the Scottish Highlands, is the setting for this hypnotically moody image, shortlisted in the World History Category. Peter Stevens is the photographer
Thousand-year-old Corfe Castle, in Dorset, is silhouetted behind a screen of brambles in this stunning picture, which looks like a scene from a fairytale. It was taken by Pete Scott and shortlisted in the Historic England category. The National Trust describes the castle as ‘one of Britain’s most iconic and evocative survivors of the English Civil War’
This otherworldly image of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol was taken by Matthew Harris and earns a place on the Historic England Shortlist
This photo of Shambles, an area of York, was captured by David Oxtaby and is shortlisted in the Historic England category. Visit York describes it as ‘one of the city’s “most famous landmarks and one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe”, which is ‘believed to have been the inspiration behind Diagon Alley’ in the Harry Potter movies
Shortlisted in the Historic England and Overall categories, this stirring image by Michelle Cowbourne shows the sun shining through the mist at Glastonbury Tor in Somerset
Judge Dan Snow said it was ‘a bold decision’ for photographer George Anthony Fisk to turn the camera around in this image of Auschwitz, a former concentration camp in Poland. The dramatic grayscale photo wins first place in the World History category. ‘There are so many powerful images of the gates of Auschwitz,’ says Dan. ‘This one looks back in the direction from which the victims came. The tracks once led to innumerable happy homes, families and communities. Now gone. Disappeared like the track over the horizon. A clever shot that makes us think differently about a hauntingly familiar site’
Here, the undulating slopes of Uffington White Horse and Dragon Hill are captured under a thick blanket of cloud, separated by a warm, orange horizon. Philip Selby captured the image, which garners a place on the Historic England Shortlist and the Overall Shortlist
Behold the eerie image of the Calanais Standing Stones on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland that snared Josh Dury the overall-winner crown. Judge Philip Mowbray described it as ‘a gorgeous scene’, adding: ‘The sunrise is perfectly placed to give this image a mythical, otherworldly element synonymous with the stones. Stunning’
