NHS-UK’s Photography Competition is always hugely popular, with hundreds of entries each year from Britain and around the world. Our 2025 theme was ‘Craft & Crew’, and it attracted nearly 750 entries featuring a wide range of historic vessels and the people who engage with them.
Overall Winner
Top Down Triangulation, by James Crisp
James’s striking image shows four vessels moored at Maldon, Essex. From largest to smallest, the vessels pictured are two Thames Sailing Barges, Nellie (built 1901) and Dinah (1887), the pilot boat Cemar and a small rowing boat. James often drives by the boatyard at Maldon to see which vessels are moored up and says: "On this particular evening it was also a nice high tide at sunset, so a perfect time to capture these vessels in the evening light."
Overall Highly Commended
Tollesbury Saltings Sunrise from Above, by Daniel Brand
Dan's evocative image shows the 1954 light vessel Trinity moored at Tollesbury Saltings at the mouth of the river Blackwater in Essex. Dan describes the location as "a photographer’s dream... a maze of salt marshes, moored boats and, at its heart, the striking red Trinity Lightship". Using a DJI Air 2S drone just after high tide, he was able to capture the scene from above, framing the winding creeks to use as natural leading lines drawing the viewer’s eye toward the lightship and then on to the rising sun. From the air, the full drama and scale of this landscape really comes alive.
Newcomer of the Year Winner
New paint, by Greg White
Greg's image shows the 1932 motor yacht Wairakei II, part of a series captured at Dennetts Boat Builders in Chertsey. It was an opportune time as they were busy making repairs, renovating, and preparing several 'Dunkirk Little Ships' for the 85th Anniversary Return to Dunkirk in May 2025. Greg captured the images using a Sony camera and Profoto flash, aiming to create a little shape and atmosphere in the images as well as draw attention to the various aspects of boat renovation through the lighting setups used.
People's Choice Winner
Getting ready for the off at a historic narrow boat gathering in Chester, by Kev Maslin
Kev's atmospheric black and white image was taking during the annual Historic Narrow Boat Club cruise to Ellesmere Port. Kev spotted Reuben Carter 'swabbing the decks' of his 1937 narrow boat Stamford at the start point in Chester. Kev says: "He appeared to be shrouded in smoke which I thought looked exceptionally evocative, so I wasted no time getting the shot in the bag."
True Classic Winner
Boom Man, by Lucy Tulloch
Taken aboard the three-masted gaff-rigged schooner Adix during Antigua’s Classic Regatta, Lucy's image shows a crewman reaching up to the huge main as it was lowered to ensure a neat stow of the sail. As he climbed onto the boom and reached to grab the first fold of the enormous mainsail, Lucy lay on her back and shot wide to get the height of the whole rig in and tried to capture the glint of the sun behind the topmast without lens flare.