Pretty chuffed to hear I've been announced as the ‘Exposure’ category winner for Mountain Equipment's 2021 Winter Photo Competition with the above image of two rookie mountaineers caught in a storm on the Cairngorm Plateau in Scotland. I gave it the working title ‘Welcome to Scotland’.

‘Exposure Category Winner: Alex Metcalfe. Our Category Judge, Colin Prior, said 'This image really sums up the Exposure category. The brief was to depict ‘being pummelled by spindrift, caught in a deluge or battered by the wind, we want to see your images that best capture the battle that makes for the memorable days.’ and here we see exactly that. The Cairngorm Plateau is notorious for exposure to gale force winds and this pair are having a real struggle against the elements where the challenge is often just to keep both feet on the ground. From personal experience, I know that these are moments that are seldom forgotten. Congratulations on a great photograph. '