New photo competition aims to celebrate city
ANEW photography competition is aiming to celebrate Birmingham and its creative talent and encourage local employers to recruit more people from the sector.
The project is being run by branding agency Orb to celebrate World Photography Day.
Orb has partnered with business improvement district Retail Birmingham and award-winning international photographer Martin Brent to run the event which is offering the winner £1,000 of camera equipment and the chance to work with Mr Brent.
To enter, photographers must submit ten photos which they feel tell the story of Birmingham and convey what the city means to them.
Mr Brent will be joined on the judging panel by Paul Faulkner, chief executive of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Retail Birmingham BID manager Steve Hewlett and renowned Birmingham pho- tographer Verity among others.
Rob Bloxham, founder of Orb who is also a judge, said: “Birmingham’s creative scene is booming. Milligan,
“Too many businesses look to London or overseas when sourcing talent in the industry but that needs to change.
“This competition will showcase the amazing ability that we have on our doorstep and will hopefully encourage more businesses to invest locally.
“I am also really excited to find a new perspective and identity for the city which goes beyond taking photos of our landmarks, something that has been done so many times before.”
Mr Brent added: “As someone who has championed Birmingham’s creative talent worldwide, the pressure is now on the entrants to prove me right.
“While I don’t have a predetermined vision of what the winning images will be, I’ll be looking for a creative and innovative interpretation of what Birmingham represents in the modern world.’’
The competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers in the West Midlands and closes at midnight on September 25.
More details can be found on Orb’s website.