Malcolm Peacock our current CPS Photographer of the Year , has proven why he is on the top spot by winning a host of awards this year. The most prestigious by far is the Fremantle International Portrait Prize , held biennially , which had an entry of 1800 images.

The Fremantle International Portrait Prize (FIPP) was founded in 2010, based on an idea by Fremantle professional photographer, Dale Neill. It is open to all people worldwide and is assessed by the highest quality of independent judges gaining it a reputation as one of the leading photographic competitions in Australia. FIPP believes that photography is an international language and the biennial competition acts as an artistic magnet attracting photographic ideas, excellence and innovation from around the world. Every time someone enters FIPP they are also playing a small part in contributing to two worthwhile charities.

Malcolm knew that he was a finalist about two weeks prior to the announcements, but was actually on his way to Spain when the final results came through. Unable to be in Australia for the presentation – where results were announced live – he asked some family friends who lived nearby to go along to the event to accept on his behalf. The e-mail arrived in Malcolm’s inbox just as he was boarding his flight and he was stunned to find out that he was the first UK Photographer to win the overall competition. There is a short video in which Malcolm talks about taking the photograph which can be viewed on the FIPP facebook page.

Malcolm gained his BPE 2* earlier this year, after gaining 50 acceptances in British Photographic Exhibition approved Salons. Several images have been awarded commendations and ribbons.

Other notable successes include: Scottish International Salon – 1 Judges award . -1 PSA Gold Medal for Best Overall Picture.
Edinburgh International Print Salon  – 1 FIAP Gold Medal.
Hoylake International Salon –  1 Judges Choice . – 1 PSA Gold Medal.

Malcolm is now addicted to competitions and is currently working towards awards from PSA (Photographic Society of America) , FIAP (International Federation of Photographic Art) and BPE3* (British Photographic Exhibitions ).

Congratulations Malcolm from all at Chester Photographic Society !