The Health Development Team in the South Eastern Trust recently held a photo competition, open to staff and members of the public with the aim of improving health and wellbeing and to encourage everyone to go outdoors and ‘Take Notice’ of the beauty of nature around them.
The contest received over 100 applications which made it very difficult for the panel of judges to decide on the winners. The winning photographs were chosen based on how their photographs reflected the positivity in nature.
One of the winning photos named ‘Road to Mountains’ was captured by Dave Campbell, from Newtownards. As an experienced hiker, Dave was supervising a group of young people taking part in their gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, while hiking through the Mourne Mountains, so he took the opportunity to photograph the stunning scenery along the Kinnahalla Road, Newry.
Dave commented, “As I walked along this rural road, the view ahead was stunning, the light, the sky, it just all came together. Photography is a passion of mine and I have found it to be a great hobby to help overcome a few personal challenges. I really enjoy taking photos on many of my travels, be it with a camera or a smartphone, wherever my feet go, my lens is not far away!”
The second winning photo, titled ‘Beach with Surfboard’ was captured by Kathleen Curran while she participated in a beach meditation run on Rossglass Beach, Killough, Co. Down.
Kathleen shared her thoughts before capturing her winning photo, “The sun was setting and people were packing up after spending a day on the beach, I just snapped a few different photos before heading home
“I didn’t realise how great the photo was until I got home, I was pleasantly surprised and was extremely pleased with how this shot turned out. I enjoy taking photos on my phone and have recently participated in a free course to improve my photography skills, which I think has clearly been a great help to me!”