Inner Forth Photography Contest winners on display at Thistles Stirling
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This Autumn, Climate FORTH launched its first photography contest, where amateur photographers were invited to submit entries depicting the built and natural heritage of the Inner Forth area, between Stirling and the Forth Bridges.
The response was phenomenal, with one hundred entries submitted - capturing everything from the Forth Bridges and the Kelpies to local wildlife and beautiful scenery. The entries were judged by professional photographers, Brian Vass and Matt Sillars.
Brian said, “Judging the Inner Forth Photography Competition was a real privilege. I loved seeing the creativity and talent on display. So many shots brought out something special and unique about the area, and you could really feel the photographers’ passion shining through. It made my job as a judge exciting and inspiring.”
Matt added, "It was great to see such diversity in the photographs. Each photographer approached the brief in their own personal way. The standard of image making was very high and it was very difficult to pick the overall winner, and all the shortlisted photographs richly deserve recognition.”
The winning images were taken by Kenny Bruce (Harvest) and Alan Pirouet (Queensferry Crossing reflection) were delighted to win vouchers for camera kit, as well as an overnight stay at the glamping pods and dinner at The Inn at Charlestown. Runners-up, David Keenan (Forth Railway Bridge) and Charles Colliar (Grey Heron) won vouchers for kit, plus dinner at The Wee Restaurant in North Queensferry. The remaining top entries also received £20 vouchers for kit.
Brian said, “Judging the Inner Forth Photography Competition was a real privilege. I loved seeing the creativity and talent on display. So many shots brought out something special and unique about the area, and you could really feel the photographers’ passion shining through. It made my job as a judge exciting and inspiring.”
Matt added, "It was great to see such diversity in the photographs. Each photographer approached the brief in their own personal way. The standard of image making was very high and it was very difficult to pick the overall winner, and all the shortlisted photographs richly deserve recognition.”
The winning images were taken by Kenny Bruce (Harvest) and Alan Pirouet (Queensferry Crossing reflection) were delighted to win vouchers for camera kit, as well as an overnight stay at the glamping pods and dinner at The Inn at Charlestown. Runners-up, David Keenan (Forth Railway Bridge) and Charles Colliar (Grey Heron) won vouchers for kit, plus dinner at The Wee Restaurant in North Queensferry. The remaining top entries also received £20 vouchers for kit.
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The top fifteen photographs are now on display at the Community Gallery in Thistles Stirling shopping centre until mid-January. So, if you're in doing some festive shopping, be sure to make time to go and have a look. The Gallery is located next to the parcel collection point, around from JD Sports and is marked on the map, here, as the big blue circle.
Claire Barrie, Retail Marketing Manager at Thistles Stirling said:
“We are delighted to be displaying the winners of the Inner Forth Photography Contest at Thistles Stirling until January. Our Community Gallery is a fantastic way to showcase the talent we have in this area, not to mention the great work going on in communities.
We hope people enjoy taking a moment to stop and appreciate the beautiful images each photographer has captured.”
Will Seaborne, Climate FORTH's business and visitor engagement officer said:
"We were thrilled with the uptake for the competition. We received many brilliant submissions, and our judges had a really tough time choosing the winners. We feel that the chosen photos beautifully showcase the incredible built and natural heritage in the Inner Forth region, and we look forward to running the competition again in 2025"
Our thanks go to all who entered, our judges, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Thistles Stirling.
Climate FORTH is the latest project from Inner Forth Futures, a landscape-scale partnership operating within the Inner Forth. The project is partly funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to players of the National Lottery. Additional funding comes from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, the Crown Estate, IFF members and the Scottish Government through Sustrans Scotland’s Network Engagement Programme.