Earlier this evening, I dropped by London’s National Theatre to take a look at the free exhibition of images from this year’s Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. Promoted by renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite, this exhibition features images of the highest standards that highlight the very best of our varied country. With everything from London skylines made up of 15 images stitched together (and almost a year of effort to capture them) to the Glastonbury Festival captured on a mobile phone (demonstrating that excelling at photography is about far more than just the equipment), I was captivated by the vistas, seascapes and iconic structures featured in the exhibition. I had to laugh too when I read the photographers’ captions and my long-suffering wife should draw some comfort that she is not alone in being deserted for a photo opportunity – Adam Burton tells of how he searched for the ultimate picture of Bambrough Castle on a trip to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and Ian Cameron told of how he “begged his wife for a few minutes to photograph [hoar-frosted fields at dusk]” and “returned to the car, an hour and ten rolls of film later, grinning from ear to ear”.

There’s also an accompanying book (Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 2), published by the AA (available from the National Theatre bookshop for £25).

In addition to the free exhibition at the National Theatre, Charlie Waite will be giving talks on Seeing Landscapes at the theatre on four dates (11:30 on 8/9 December 2008 and 5/6 January 2009). I’ve heard Charlie speak before and found him inspirational so I’ll be there to hear him speak again – tickets are £5 from the National Theatre box office.