Photographer Stripped of Title and Prize Money for Excessive Digital Manipulation

Photo: David Byrne / Landscape Photographer of the Year

David Byrne, a photographer from Cannock, England who was recently announced as the winner of the 2012 Take a View Landscape of the Year Award and the recipient of the £10,000 (close to $16,000) prize, has since been disqualified. His winning photograph (pictured above), which depicts two beached fishing boats in the foreground with Lindisfarne Castle off in the background, was judged to have been doctored too much using Photoshop.

Competition founder Charlie Waite said of the decision: “This is extremely regrettable and it appears there was no deliberate intention to deceive the judges but the level of manipulation means that this photograph gained an unfair advantage in this category and in winning the overall competition. The integrity of the competition is very important to all involved and it was clear that disqualification was the only course of action open to us."

As a result, on November 2nd it was announced through the competition's website that Simon Butterworth was the new winner for his image of a condemned housing block in Port Glasgow (pictured below).

Photo: Condemned by Simon Butterworth / Landscape Photographer of the Year

Read more: NEW WINNER LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 

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