A FAST-PACED film of an Army winter sports competitor has led to a Dorchester soldier claiming a prestigious award.

Army photographer Sergeant Gary Kendall made the film of a luge rider for the Army Photographic Competition. It can be seen on the Dorset Echo website.

It led to him receiving first prize in the best professional video category.

Sgt Kendall, 41, who serves with Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) and is based at Army Headquarters as a video cameraman, said he was delighted to win.

He said: “I’m really happy. It means all the hard work you put into doing the videos counts. I think it’s always good to win something.”

Sgt Kendall, who has been all over the world including Canada, Sierra Leone, and Jordan as a photographer, completed a six-month operational tour in Afghanistan in 2010 with 4th Mechanized Brigade.

He said of his video: “It was quite difficult to make in respect that it’s a luge, and it’s a tunnel down one route where you can’t really see them. Finding the right candidate, I think, is what made the video. It’s the person who spoke. I have the camera, which is the easy part. But he has to give it that meaningful feel that he’s really thinking about what he’s doing. I can’t take all the credit. It’s all about the personalities.”

Photography is a recognised trade in the Royal Logistic Corps and there are 38 professional photographers in the British Army, assigned to brigades around the UK and Germany, and working as part of Army Media and Communication at Army Headquarters in Andover.

A stills photographer in the Army Media and Communications branch, Sgt Kendall has picked up the video camera more recently.

“To be honest I thought I’d miss photography but I think video is so much more demanding,” he said. “It requires a lot more patience and a lot more thought goes into it. You can show so much more through video. Stills make an impact but video can show so much more of a chain of events than, I think, a still image can.”

Winners were announced at a ceremony at the Imperial War Museum.