Photographer Jack Boskett picked up top honours in the Christmas Parties and Seasonal Events category at the 12th annual Event Photography Awards in London, relying on a Nikon Z 9 mirrorless camera to freeze an illuminated steam locomotive cutting through the dark.
The winning frame captured the Boogie Lights Express on the Severn Valley Railway in England. Decorated with thousands of multicoloured LED lights, the vintage locomotive runs a 70-minute return trip between Kidderminster and Highley stations, turning a standard heritage rail route into a rolling sound and light show.
Capturing a train moving at roughly 25 miles per hour in pitch-black conditions posed an immediate exposure problem. Boskett shot the sequence using a Nikon Z 9 paired with a Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S lens racked out to 70mm. To pull enough ambient illumination from the train's LEDs without totally blowing out the highlights or introducing crippling blur, he settled on an exposure of 1/50 second at f/3.2, pushing the camera sensor to ISO 2000.
Boskett noted that there was no exterior light source around his position along the cutting. The scene only illuminated when the locomotive burst through the surrounding trees, casting vibrant reflections across the countryside. The technical gamble on a relatively slow 1/50 second shutter paid off with a sharp, balanced exposure that stood out to the jury.
The win marks Boskett's fourth consecutive year picking up an award at the EPAs. A veteran shooter known for his rail work alongside British royal family assignments, Boskett pointed out after the presentation that real camera work faces unprecedented competition from generated media. Winning in a field of physical exposures, he explained, gives working photographers validation when artificial images flood the visual landscape.
The Event Photography Awards run as a not-for-profit competition established to spotlight visual documentation within the global events sector. For the 2026 edition, organizers drew more than 2,300 submissions submitted by entrants from upwards of 20 countries.
Ceremony organizers hosted roughly 250 attendees at Central Hall Westminster to hand out prizes across 18 core categories. The 2026 roster also introduced two new honors: a Black and White Award, supported by Digital Camera magazine, alongside an Event Photographer of the Year title awarded alongside the Best Portfolio prize.
Full galleries of this year's awarded and shortlisted images are now live through the competition's official archive.
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