The winners of an amateur photography competition about Kingston's relationship with the Thames River have been announced.
The competition was put on by Kingston First and photography retailers Jessops in Kingston.
It aimed to "celebrate the lifeblood of Kingston, the River Thames" by highlighting the community's close relationship with the world-famous river.
Among a host of excellent entries, the winning photograph was revealed to be Kingstonian Kamran Rajaby's entry "Riverside Peace".
Speaking to the Comet, Mr Rajaby described his elation at having his photo named in first place, and eluded to his very own relationship with the iconic water way.
"I live in Kingston, we live by the river and my partner and I walk by the river quite a lot.
"I'm no professional photographer but I love taking photos and people told me I have an eye for detail so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to enter this competition," he said.
Mr Rajaby, 29, went to Kingston University (KU) and remains in the borough, working in the NHS, carrying out eye-screening for diabetic patients.
His winning photograph — featuring boats, wildlife and a picturesque view of Kingston Bridge — was praised for its high level of artistry and technical skill.
One of the judges, Pete at Jessops Kingston, said:
"It's hard not to fall in love with Kingston looking at images like this.
"Beautiful contrast between the sky and the cloudscape — the clouds really make the image — imagine how less interesting the overall effect would be with a plain coloured sky.
"They also reflect beautifully in the rippled water (and) shooting in monochrome gives an interesting aspect."
Another judge described the "fantastic skill and composition" on display in Mr Rajaby's winning entry, which features a centrepiece of a bird in mid flight over the Thames.
A passionate amateur photographer, the KU graduate described how he had to be patient in order to capture the stunning interplay of several dynamic elements at once.
He also revealed that he took the photograph on his smartphone.
"It was actually taken on my iPhone.
"I had to stand and wait there and the bird came, and after some editing submitted it," he said.
"Everyone keeps telling me I should take this further and maybe move beyond my Instagram page so maybe I can make some money from all this one day," he said.
Receiving a Fujifilm X-T100 Camera and photography course at Jessops Kingston, the competition win could well spur Mr Rajaby on.
The other top-rated entries also received prizes courtesy of the competition.
In second place was "Kingston Twilight" by Melissa Long, an eye-catching view of Kingston Bridge at dusk.
Third place was awarded to Luciano Schmaedecke beautiful "Sail Boat" entry, featuring sailors on the Thames.
All three will feature with a range of other entrants at the Go with the Flow Photography Exhibition, which is running through September as part of Totally Thames Festival.
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