DISTANCE NO OBJECT TO NEW PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

8th March 2007

A PRESTIGIOUS digital photography competition launches this week to celebrate images of the Highlands and Islands during Highland 2007 Scotland's year of Highland culture.

Anyone with a camera and a creative eye is being invited to send entries to 'Highland Exposure' organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Distance Lab - the digital media and communication technologies research institute.

The judges will be looking for the most stunning and inventive expressions of distance in a contemporary Highlands and Islands context, with some sort of connection to Highland 2007's main themes: arts, environment, heritage, language, science and sport.

Calum Davidson, HIE's head of knowledge economy explained: "Not only geographical but also distance related to human relationships or to cultural and social dynamics or space and time. The competition is designed to celebrate the modern Highlands and Islands through visual imagery and we are also keen to explore the theme of distance."

The overall winner will receive a £250 prize with a further five entrants getting £100 each for 'honorary mentions'. Following the deadline for entries on May 1, all the photographs will be displayed on innovative digital interfaces developed by Distance Lab to be shown at an exhibition that will appear first at an Inverness city centre venue in June.

HIE chairman Willy Roe said: "This is a chance for people to capture the best images of contemporary life in the Highlands and Islands. This region is brimming with an eclectic range of landscapes and lifestyles and I'm delighted that Distance Lab is involved as they research the boundary between technology and creativity."

At Distance Lab chief executive Stefan Agamanolis added: "Distance Lab was set up to address both technology and creativity. This competition will allow us to move away from the traditional static photographic exhibition so that, using digital technology, we can display images in new and innovative ways."

Entrants may submit as many photos as they wish. They should be presented in JPEG form by May 1 using the entry form which appears on the competition website
www.highlandexposure.net

Anyone seeking further information should email info[AT]highlandexposure.net