A FORMER Tavistock man is the creative talent behind an image which has won first prize in an Army photographic competition.

The photograph of a parachutist mid-jump by Dominic King won the professional sport and adventurous training category of this year’s British Army photographic competition, seeing off the likes of boxing, kayaking and martial arts.

Dominic, who works as a professional photographer for the Army in Germany, snapped the well-timed photo during an exercise with the Tigers Parachute Display Team of 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, also based in Germany.

Dominic, aged 37, who grew up in Tavistock, said: ‘I was a little bit surprised to win because I have no idea what it was up against. The standard is usually extremely high.’

Talking about the winning shot Dominic, who currently lives in Dusseldorf, said: ‘I knew it was good when I looked at it in the camera afterwards but I didn’t really think about it as an entry.’

Dominic is no stranger to photography or the armed forces, as he was an RAF photographer for ten years before joining the civil service.

His top tips for what makes the perfect photograph include getting the basics right: ‘It’s something that I’ve always tried to do,’ he said.

‘So, composition, exposure and focus are key. I pride myself on getting those things right all the time. The rest of it is a combination of lighting, timing and subject interaction.’

Former Tavistock College student Dominic added: ‘What’s really important in our job is how much the unit is willing to help us. The units out here are fantastic. 1PWRR, 5 Rifles, Queen’s Royal Hussars, 35 Engineer Regiment, Military Working Dogs, 23 Amphibious Engineering Troop to name a few; they’re all willing to help us do our job in the middle of them doing theirs, whether training, practicing or jumping out of aircraft.

‘I would never have got that shot if 1PWRR didn’t understand what me and press officer Dave Allen were there to do so it does depend a lot on the help from the actual unit as well.’

Command Master Photographer WO1 Will Craig said: ‘This year’s seen the highest amateur entries we have ever had. We had soldiers using their phones and larger formats cameras to capture some really great images.

‘The professionals had to work a little bit harder this year in some of the new categories, which have challenged the most experienced.’