A view of Little Langdale is among the pictures being auctioned. Photo: Mark Littlejohn
A group of top landscape photographers is helping raise cash for a mountain rescuer badly injured during a callout.
The 25 award-winning visual artists have offered some of their works for an online auction.
Proceeds will go to the fund set up to support Chris Lewis, who suffered life-changing injuries while on a callout with Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team in February.
Mr Lewis fell 150m on Red Screes above Kirkstone Pass while responding to a request for help from two wild campers, one of whom reported medical problems. The rescuer was airlifted from the mountainside by a Coastguard helicopter.
The caring photographers, many of whom can lay claim to titles such as Landscape Photographer Of The Year and World Landscape Photography Winner, were quick to offer their support when approached by auction organisers, Paula Mould and Jason Hudson.
A spokesperson for the rescue team said: “Each photographer has kindly agreed to auction an image from their prestigious portfolio, with the aim of raising a substantial amount of money to help support Chris, who will sadly now need support and care for the rest of his life.”
Ms Mould, a keen amateur photographer, said: “The idea for the auction came about after I, like many others, was moved and saddened by the plight of this heroic volunteer.
“I identified an opportunity to raise funds, set about enlisting the support of the photographic community and very much hope that we can help by raising both awareness and funds.”
Fantasy is one of the auction images. Photo: Neil Burnell
One of the photographers who donated an image, Mark Littlejohn, is a winner of the Landscape Photographer of the Year and he has supported Patterdale MRT in the past. He said: “Chris’s story is really saddening and many of us have been very moved by it.
“As part of the landscape photography community, many of us spend extensive amounts of time in the hills in adverse weather conditions. We see the amount of time and effort volunteers from the mountain rescue teams put in to protect and save members of the public. We are all devastated to hear about the injuries that Chris has sustained and are eager to do something to support him and his family.”
The auction went live on the online auction site Jumblebee on Saturday and will last for four weeks, ending at 9pm on Tuesday 13 April.
Among the photographs up for auction are images which have won acclaimed awards, and photographers that have won some of the UKs premier photography competitions as well as being amongst the most popular and successful photographers on YouTube.
They include:
- Landscape Photographer of the Year: Mark Littlejohn
- World Landscape Photography Competition winner: Neil Burnell
- Fotospeed Photographers of the Year: Alan Leightley, Amy Bateman and Neil Burnell
- Wex Photographers of the Year: James Ewer, Neil Burnell
- British Life Photographer of the Year: Amy Bateman.
Chris Lewis was seriously injured in a fall
Other photographers have won categories and had images commended and highly commended in various prestigious competitions.
“The subject matter of the prints ranges from Lake District fells to iconic Scottish vistas and reaches as far as Iceland,” Ms Mould said, “and the auction includes a mixture of A2 and A3 prints. We’ll be doing all we can to make people aware of this opportunity to support Chris and to purchase a beautiful image too.”
At the time of writing, the auction had raised more than £4,000. The total on the JustGiving page set up by the Lake District Mountain Search and Rescue Association to support Chris Lewis stands at more than £840,000. Donations can be made via the JustGiving site.
