Your space
Photo competition
National Trust

The professionals

We commissioned four professional photographers to head out and capture the spirit of our green spaces, and people enjoying them. Here's what they came up with.

Mary McCartney

Morden Hall Park, London

Boy lean on bridge's fence looking at river

‘It was a warm summer’s day with children dipping their feet and wading in the river; parents picnicking on the river’s edge; granddaughter and grandmother on a walk together, wandering and talking. This open space is much loved, and I was happy to find the diversity of people that appreciate it. Children playing Poohsticks by a bridge. Grandfather reading a comic to his grandson on a park bench. Dog owners taking their dogs out for a run around and a cyclist taking a short cut through this green space to clear her head.

‘It really made me appreciate how important spaces like this are. Thank you for inviting me to be part of this project.’

Joe Cornish

Friar’s Crag & Brandelhow, Lake District

Couple sit between trees looking out on lake

‘I crawled out of my sleeping bag and, in the dim light before sunrise, set off towards the Brandelhow shore. The lake was not quite still and the mood was idyllic. No one appeared for several hours, by which time I’d made several images. I met all sorts: holidaymakers, local dog-walkers, young people and children. I thought about how they were creating memories of this place that they would carry close to their hearts for ever.

‘Memories of my first professional encounter with the area 25 years ago came back, and there was a pleasing sense that some things have not changed very much at all.’

Arnhel de Serra

Minnowburn, Northern Ireland

Man unpacks his sandwiches while taking a break from cycling

‘There are a number of trails leading around the site but being a people photographer I tended to stick to the areas where I thought more visitors would go, especially the allotments and the walk along the river. The picnic sites were very peaceful and, maybe because it was the weekend, lots of families were out and about. There were a few characters fishing along the banks of the river, and there was a lot of activity on the water itself, with members of a canoe club further downstream who were having a great time.

‘There was a man by the bridge who had hopped off his bicycle to finish off his sandwiches. I got chatting to him for a while and he told me it was a place he regularly visited as it was within easy reach of the city centre and he loved the tranquillity.’

Charlie Waite

Prior Park Landscape Garden, Bath

Path leads down to water's edge at Prior Park

‘This was my first visit to Prior Park, and it provided me with a surprise. Landscape photographs need to haul the viewer’s eye down to where the photographer intends for it to reside. My surprise was to be found in the most romantic ‘anchor’ that a landscape photographer could wish for, a Palladian bridge. I wanted to photograph this glorious bridge in different lighting scenarios and from many different perspectives. As a part of the landscape garden here, it is pivotal to every visitor’s experience. One feels compelled to cross it, as I often did. Everyone loves a good bridge; Prior Park has one of the best on offer.’