This stunning image featuring a West Bay backdrop has won a talented photographer a prestigious international award.

Mandy Newby was named International Illustrative Photographer of the Year 2021 after her entry was selected from thousands in the prestigious Master Photographers Association (MPA) International Awards.

The first of the categories to be announced at the award ceremony was commercial illustrative and Mandy, a qualified Fellow of The Master Photographers, an Adobe Photoshop expert and a specialist in pet portraiture, was gobsmacked to see her image made it as a finalist, then couldn’t believe it had won.

The image - her interpretation of Poseidon's horses - created the piece compositing four photographs. The backdrop is a photo of West Bay beach and the three 'water horses’ are in fact one horse - Mandy’s mother-in-law American Paint, Posy.

Mother-of-two Mandy, who lives near Axminster, said: "West Bay beach is a favourite dog walk for us in the winter and place to visit in the summer. The waves are generally pretty good too so it seemed like the natural place to get the backdrop for the photo. It was windy and there were great clouds on the day, so we didn’t need to stay long to get the shot. Next, we headed to my husband’s mum's stables.

"I decided Posy would be best because she was the closest to white (she’s Palamino and white, Lily is a Chestnut) and we popped her on the lunge rein. I selected three images of her that looked quite different from one another.

"Once I had my images, it was time to edit. It took a little while to create the water effect but once I was happy I repeated the other two horse photos then stitched it all together to create the final piece."

Mandy, who recently qualified as a Fellow of the MPA in Dog Portraiture, has gained a worldwide following for her animal photography over the last year and is looking forward to some exciting new projects this year.