AN ethereal autumn mist, ploughing the hills and a very cold cow were the three winning entries in the South Downs National Park photo competition 2018-19.

This time around, the theme of the hotly-contested annual competition for the most eye-catching images of the South Downs was Perfectly Seasoned.

Taking first prize was Lorraine Heaysman’s Autumn Gold, a misty panorama taken from the hills above Upwaltham.

Lorraine said: “Mornings have always been my favourite time of the day and I spend so much time searching for these conditions. My heart skips a beat whenever I walk along the Downs and see scenes like this.”

Second prize went to Dominic Vacher for Race Against Time, taken from Tegdown Hill during last summer’s heatwave.

Dominic said: “There had been a long hot and dry spell for weeks but the forecast predicted a dramatic change with stormy weather imminent.

“The farmer was clearly taking heed and working frantically to get his crops harvested before the weather turned.”

Easebourne snapper Clive Blott won third prize for Freshly Frozen, his portrait of a cow taken on a very cold January morning near Midhurst.

Clive said: “I was walking our dog in the snow and found these cows sheltering under the trees. There had been a lot of snow that week – great fun for those, like me, who didn’t have to travel to work and the perfect opportunity for me to walk everywhere with my camera close at hand.”As well as the three winners, a trio of pictures earned highly-commended recognition for their photographers - Amongst the Beech Trees by Jonathan Peacock, Winter on Butser by Ron De’Ath, and Coastguard Cottages at Sunrise by Zoltan Kecskes. And it is now down to a public vote to decide which of the six winning and highly-commended snaps will win the popuar choice. To vote, visit southdowns.gov.uk/vote-favourite-photo.