Winning photos impress at PEFC Week

23 November 2017 News

A winter’s day in the forest, young elephants playing, stunning landscapes… the participants at PEFC Forest Certification Week 2017 in Helsinki, Finland, were in for a treat!

The top twelve photos from our ‘Experience Forests, Experience PEFC’ photo contest were all on display throughout PEFC Week, giving our participants the opportunity to take a break from the formal work and loose themselves in the magical world of forests.

In the center was ‘Morning Star’ taken by Gareth Goldthorpe in Bellecombe forest, France, our first placed photo and winner of the 2017 PEFC Photographer of the Year Award.

Hear from Gareth, in his own words, how forests inspired him to take this fantastic image! 

On Wednesday night, with everybody gathered for our Cocktail Reception, the photos were once again in the spotlight, as Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, formally announced our winners.

“I would like to congratulate our PEFC Photographer of the Year 2017, Gareth Goldthorpe, for his fantastic photo ‘Morning Star’. As part of the judging panel, I was extremely impressed with this image and it drew my attention immediately,” Ben commented.

“I also want to congratulate the other eleven photographers for their wonderful images. It was tough to pick just twelve from the dozens of national winners we received (not to mention how hard it was for our members to pick winners from the more than 11,000 photos received globally!), but I am extremely happy with our final selection.”

“I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, and I’m already looking forward to the 2018 edition of our contest!” Ben concluded.