Winners of the French photo contest impress with wonderful forest landscapes

15 October 2019 Forests in photos

PEFC France asked professional and amateur photographers for their best forest photos and received impressive images of diverse forest landscapes.

The jury composed of representatives from PEFC France, a photographer and a communications specialist chose the best out of 300 photos entered into the contest.

"PEFC France thanks all the participants in the contest #PhotographePEFC2019! Their different views on the diversity of French forests remind us of the importance of ensuring sustainable management of this legacy," said Paul-Emmanuel Huet, National Secretary of PEFC France.

“The daily commitment of PEFC is to protect the forest balance.”

The winning images

The winning photo ‘Toucher le ciel’ (Touch the sky) was taken by Alain Gil in Saint-Jeures in Haute-Loire in Southern France.

"I took my photo during a hike around the Lavalette Dam, a wooded area with many varieties of trees. Attracted by the density of bare trunks, I moved away from the trail. I found it very beautiful how the light passed through the trees and that we could see the blue sky despite the dense foliage above us,” the photographer explained.

“In a forest, everyone can see different things and some might even want to climb all the way up there."

David Houis won second prize for his photo of a colourful forest taken in Rambouillet in Northern France.

Third prize went to Aurélien Bak, who took his photo ‘Human free’ right next to his home in the forest of Chaux in the Jura in Eastern France.

The prizes

For first place, Alain Gil wins a night in a tree house, while the runners up win a book about botanical studies in the tropical forest by French botanist and biologist Francis Hallé.

More photos entered into the French national contest can be seen on Instagram under #PhotographePEFC2019.