Hailsham in East Sussex has launched a new photography competition to support the town's bid to win the 2011 'South & South East in Bloom' title.

The local council's Hailsham In Bloom Committee has opened its ‘Hailsham In Bloom ­ In Pictures’ competition to photographers of all ages who are keen to submit 'natural' images taken in the local gardens and parks.

Ideas for entries could include floral, heritage, recycling, water conservation, horticulture or landscape images.

As well as the choice of subject, the judging panel will also be considering technical factors including ability, interpretation of the brief and composition of the photograph.

Images must not be in any way digitally enhanced and must be the original work of the person submitting the picture.

The competition is free to enter and is open to amateur photographers who are local to Hailsham. Entries should be emailed in jpeg or pdf format to terry.hall@hailsham-tc.gov.uk before 10 June 2011, along with a name, address and contact phone number.

There are cash prizes available for the winner and runner-up, so get snapping! Winners will be awarded their prizes during an official Awards Presentation for winners of all Hailsham In Bloom competitions, which will be held in September next year.

We love competitions - what a great excuse to get out and about and practice your photography! If you're local to Hailsham we'd love you to share your practice, (and potentially winning), shots in our Flickr group.

If you need any tips then why not ask for advice in our forum or check out our downloadable courses or photography videos?

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