David Knight: LPA competition winner

The Nude: LPA Series Gold Winner David Knight.

David's winning images were taken in 2007 as part of a solo exhibition which took place in Sydney, where he is based. Saatchi & Saatchi, a long standing client of David's, lent him their amazing reception area as a gallery. It overlooks the Sydney Opera House and is virtually under the Harbour Bridge

David makes his living as an Advertising Photographer. He explains: "This often means delivering on a very rigid brief. At the time of the competition, I hadn't worked on any personal projects for a long while, so was looking for an antidote to the confines of advertising. With this project, I went right back to basics and kept everything as simplistic as possible. I opted for a black background, and used the modeling light from a broncolor pulso G head. As a result, a longer shutter speed was required. When coupled with the movement of the model and dropping the lens in and out of focus, this added a great deal of randomness to the whole process. What I like about working in this way is that you can end up with something very interesting and unexpected."

David decided to enter the LPA's "The Nude" competition when a fellow photographer mentioned it to him. She had attended the opening night of his exhibition and suggested it would be a good competition for him to enter.

David joined the LPA as part of a drive to increase his profile internationally. He feels that the combined effect of winning The Nude and doing well in other competitions and awards can only boost his profile. He now intends to devote more time to personal projects, and would like to exhibit more in the coming years. On the value of entering competitions, David says: "I realise now that awards and competitions can have a huge impact on the success of your business, so I will endeavour to be more proactive and enter as many awards and competitions as I can in the future!"