A photographer has had his image featured in a national tourism campaign which is on display to millions of arrivals at Heathrow.

Robert Beasley, of Peach Croft in Abingdon, entered the GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland campaign last year with his bird’s eye photograph of Abingdon fair.  

The campaign was launched in partnership with the Royal Photographic Society, the GREAT campaign’s project was designed to show passengers a fresh view of the UK, as seen through the eyes and lenses of the public.

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The display of 40 photos captures the spirit of all four corners of the nation. People and places from across the UK such as Bow Fiddle Rock in Scotland, Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire, Pentre Ifan in Pembrokeshire, Wales and Gortin Glen Forest Park in Omagh, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland are included.

Herald Series: The original image and how it looks as part of the campaignThe original image and how it looks as part of the campaign

Mr Beasley’s image, alongside the other winners, is now displayed across all of Heathrow’s terminals, on the Heathrow Express train running from the airport to London Paddington train station and on digital screens within the terminals.

Mr Beasley, 34, told this newspaper he has always been interested in photography as he studied animation at university.

There, he met his wife who was studying photography and he fell into the hobby from there.

During lockdown, Mr Beasley took up drone photography as he got a licence for it, from there he was able to get his winning shot of Abingdon fair.

On being named a winner, he said: “It was an especially nice surprise because I was made redundant in at the same time. It was a nice pick me up.”

As the image is now on display to millions of people with his name on it, Mr Beasley has gained some new fans.

“It has been really nice. I have had a few people find me through that photograph who I have never met before. One lady, who is from Abingdon put lives up north, got in touch and asked if I sold prints of the photograph.

Emma Gilthorpe, chief operating officer at Heathrow Airport and one of the competition judges, said: “It is fantastic to see the UK’s rich cultural diversity on show through this brilliant new photography exhibition.

“I am delighted that passengers arriving at Heathrow will be greeted by these photos, celebrating diverse perspectives and our innovative, welcoming spirit.

“We’re gearing up for a busy summer travel season and I hope this exhibition will encourage visitors to see new perspectives when they visit the amazing places the UK has to offer.”

Competition judge Alistair Morrison added: “It was refreshing to see so many entries that truly reflected the idea of ‘Seeing Things Differently’.

“Having to choose from such an outstanding collection of diverse photographs was tough - congratulations to everybody who contributed.”

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This story was written by Sophie Perry. She joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.

You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @itssophieperry

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