Talented photographers in the frame as winners of national photography competition are announced
‘see me’, Scotland’s national campaign to end stigma and discrimination around mental ill-health, today announces the three lucky winners who have scooped the top prizes in the campaign’s photography competition ‘A Positive Frame of Mind’.
A panel of judges this week awarded Natasha McLatchie, 16, from Paisley, the Judge’s Choice Under 18s prize for her photo entitled ‘ Stretching Out!’ which shows a boy stretched across two plant pots next to an old brick wall, which Natasha feels is “all about stretching your perspective of the world and positive thinking”.
17 year old Louise Erskine from Glenrothes, Fife, won the Judge’s Choice Adult prize for her entry, ‘Nature’, a photo which “represents the beauty of both nature and human relationships”.
Meanwhile, last month, 64 regional winners from across Scotland were displayed in an online gallery where members of the public have been voting for the Public Choice winner. Alexandra Lowles, 17, from Moray, walked off with the award for her entry ‘Meditation’ which encourages you to “be aware of your surroundings and be happy within yourself and your environment. Feel peaceful and calm”.
Runner-up in the online voting competition was Jayde Kitchell, 17, also from Moray with her photo captioned ‘Be Bold. Be Yourself’, while the judges awarded a special commendation to Jamie Douglas from Edinburgh for his entry ‘City of Solitude’.
A record number of budding photographers from across Scotland entered this year’s competition, sending in captioned photos that illustrated their interpretation of the theme: ‘Be there. Be yourself’. The three winners will each scoop £250 of John Lewis vouchers and will get to spend a day with professional photographer Tony Marsh.
Suzie Vestri, ‘see me’ Campaign Director, says: “People are now able to be much more open about their mental health problems, but stigma still exists. Competitions like ‘A Positive Frame of Mind’ raise awareness of the importance of mental well-being and help combat discrimination.
“Every entry really captured the spirit of the campaign theme ‘Be there. Be yourself’ which reflects how even small things you do can help make a difference to someone with a mental health problem.”
Noted photographer, and competition judge Tony Marsh, comments on behalf of the judging panel: “We were genuinely impressed by the quality of all the images. The standard of entries to this year’s competition was exceptionally high and the panel had some difficulty selecting just two winners! Photography is so much more accessible today and it’s great to see people using this in creative and positive way. We’d like to congratulate all the winners of this year’s competition, who all show great promise.”