Whenever I need a little inspiration or I need a quick pick me up to boost my day, I walk toward the window, pause for a moment and just look out as far as my eye could see.

There’s nothing spectacular about my view: traffic on the road, red roofs, a couple of trees and some sky high buildings in the horizon. But I’m grateful to see that white cloud hovering the expanse of my view, as if a protective cover from the scorching heat of the sun.

I like to get lost in images that offer a temporary reprieve from the stresses of the day. I get to escape in other worlds in just a matter of seconds. I especially love beautiful photos of nature just like this:

I love the vibrant colors and the contrast of the orange butterfly on the pink flowers. This photo is called “A Taste of Summer” taken by Harry Wagg of Birkenhead.

It’s one of the entries I voted for at the Lloyd’s TSB Weather Competition, a contest for amateur photographers to capture picture – perfect shots of the summer weather in the UK.  The competition runs from April 13 – September 30 and is open to all UK residents.

Interested participants can submit as many entries as they want provided their photos are taken in the UK. Photos with the most number of votes can win the weekly prize and stand a chance to be included in the public exhibition of the 12 finalists. The winning photographer takes home £10,000 and the honor of being British Weather Photographer of the Year.

Looking through the gallery of submissions is a real visual treat. I’ve never been to the UK and it’s nice to see glimpses of a beautiful country thousands of miles a way. Here are the other entries I voted for:

Doesn’t this photo look surreal? It’s called Pot of Gold on Swanage Pier taken by Andy Farrer. I love the varying shades of blue and the punch color coming from the rainbow. I guess part of being a great photographer is capturing shots like this, being at the right place and at the right timing.

I also voted for this photo called Stormy Wales Coast by Rosane Miller of Birmingham. This could have been an ordinary photo of gloomy weather, but including the brightly colored row of houses in the background makes this photo stand out in the gallery.

This photo also caught my eye. It’s called Lightning Over St Catherine’s Lighthouse by Jamie Russell of Sandown. It stands out in a creepy yet pretty kind of way. I love the purple shade and I wonder if the photographer captured this as a natural effect or it was edited in some way. If it was natural, that would be pretty cool.

If you liked these photos, head on over to http://www.lloydstsbweathercompetition.co.uk/ and give these photographers some love. Voting just takes one quick click. You can even spend a bit of time browsing the other entires, and you just might be amazed and inspired to take your own photos.

So what’s your pick?

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Tagged as: photography