A PHOTOGRAPHY competition has been launched by Salisbury homeless charity Alabaré to capture images of hope.

The charity and their internationally renowned judges are looking for stunning images with the theme ‘This is my hope’.

All proceeds from the competition go towards supporting its work with the homeless and vulnerable.

The competition is now open for submissions from amateurs and professionals alike, entries are sought until August 3.

A selection of the images will feature in a week-long exhibition and 2021 calendar. There is also a top cash prize of £500 and a special category for young people aged under 18 with a £50 gift voucher on offer to the winner.

The judging panel is made up of local photographers Colin Prior, David Noton and Tim Booth, and Bette Lynch formerly of Getty Images, who will decide on the top 80 photographs which will be featured in a week long exhibition at St Thomas’s Church in Salisbury.

Rebecca Mullen, of Alabaré, said: “As a community and a country, we are all asking what will my community and my life look like after Covid?

"With inspiring images of cities without pollution, of rarely seen clear waters in the canals of Venice, and heart-warming images of families reaching out to one another through video calls, we are inviting everyone to consider what their lives, their communities and their world will look like going forward.

"In this spirit we have launched our photography competition to capture images from across the nation that fill each of us with hope for the future.”

Tim Booth, who will be judging the entries, added: “My hope is that at the end of this we will be fitter and stronger, better able to cope when the challenge comes and that perhaps this time of pausing has edged us towards a new way of thinking. Not just about our species, but also how we interact with the planet we inhabit.

"I hope for clearer air and a greater consciousness of who and what we are, here’s hoping we can maintain an appreciation of the simpler things in life, curb our rampant and damaging consumerism and realise that most of the time mankind spends running about madly, we are just running in circles.”

Go to alabare.co.uk