Past masters

2007 Jon Gibbs, Great Yarmouth

Storm over Scroby Sands Wind Farm, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

‘In 2007, I was working in Morrisons in Norwich. At the time, there weren't many photography competitions, and as this new one had a prestigious title, I thought I'd give it a go.

‘The evening I took the image, the weather was mad, and when the storm moved behind the turbines, I knew I'd got something. In those days, you didn't think in terms of competitions, and I certainly didn't consider that it might win anything. These days, though, a lot of people have an LPOTY file on their computer, and although I don't think we should shoot specifically for competitions, anything that gets people – particularly youngsters – outside and taking pictures is a good thing.

‘I went numb when I got the phone call. I found my wife, Steph, who was hanging out the washing, and told her the news. She said, “That's nice.” It brought me right back to earth!

‘The prize money was a real shot in the arm and it gave me the confidence to open a photography gallery in Wells-next-the-Sea. My business partner Gareth and I had ten years there, but we recently made the decision to close it, so I now have a bit of time to think about what I'm going to do next.

‘The biggest difference between winning