Sean Hardy is an independent photographer and film-maker based in London. Sean won The Mark Gunter Photo Awards in 2021 with his shot of Team WNT-Ceratizit’s Lotta Henttala, and regularly contributes photography to Rouleur.
I especially enjoyed looking at the amateur selection this year. The standard has been consistently high, demonstrating how amateur photographers continue to learn to see things differently. In particular, I enjoyed where attention has been given to playing with light, and the daring approach to making their photographs work.
There are images in this selection I would have loved to have taken. I enjoy images that make me stop and look, and the amateurs had that in abundance. All the images entered show such great promise for years to come, which is very exciting.
As always, the pro category produced some outstanding images. Still, I wanted to see images that weren’t obvious, playing with colours and light, using shadows and angles to produce something that really pops. Different to many amateurs, professionals can get that access to riders or events with their special accreditations, so seeing that being used to full advantage was really nice.
There was a handful of images that were super easy to pick, but the standard was so high this year that it was really hard to put together a list of only 10.
Here are my shortlists for The Mark Gunter Photo Awards 2022:
AMATEUR CATEGORY
Mat Gilfedder @matgilfedder
Friday night crits under lights out at Ipswich Cycle Park, on a clear moonlit night.
Hung Mai @hungmaiphotography
MFG CX at Fort Steilacoom Park in Washington. We’ve hit October now and there still hasn’t been a drop of rain in sight. The dust getting kicked up into the light make it a dream for photographers but an absolute nightmare for the athletes.
Saskia Martin @saskiacmartin
In the Shadows. Cross racing at it hardest. Mud and pure grit.
Saskia Martin @saskiacmartin
Not everyday is a snow day. The harsh conditions across London meant it was time to escape to the forest on mountain bikes.
Saskia Martin @saskiacmartin
Through the crowds. The intensity of Roubaix means you need to push through the crowds to try and capture the Peloton finishing.
James Middleton @jmidphoto
Tiny riders. Yet another from the 3 peaks race and one that sums up cyclocross: you’re either on the bike or the bikes on you. I saw these two like ants from a distance and knew I needed to go for the silhouette shot, thankfully…