STUNNING shots of Yorkshire’s ‘exceptional’ landscape and people have featured in Aireborough Camera Club’s Summer Open competition.

This was the sixth year that the group has held the event which encourages entries inspired by the title of Yorkshire Life.

Eye-catching images of of workers, churches, rivers, moors, hill runners, waterfalls, farmland and more were entered this year - with a high quality on show that made the judging panel’s task difficult.

This was also the first time that club members have been allowed to enter the event.

Aireborough Camera Club’s Vice President, Chris Owens, said: “This our sixth Summer Open Photographic Competition and the entry numbers have kept growing.

“The competition was inaugurated in the summer of 2014 and, as the name suggests, it was open to all except club members - though this did change this year.

“The purpose of the competition was two-fold, firstly to advertise the club and secondly, and more importantly, to encourage the people of Aireborough to look more carefully at where they lived and worked and to photograph it.

“Since its early days we have expanded the competition’s scope so that now it takes in all aspects of Yorkshire.

“It is an exceptional county, there is no other that has Yorkshire’s great variety and diversity; from wild moors and coastline, groomed farmlands, character villages to the great industrial cities and ports, and of course its people.

“And it is still changing.

“The judging panel have always had a difficult but pleasurable task looking carefully at all the entries to eventually decide on the winning images.

“This year, as we allowed club members to enter, there was an external judge who made the final decision.

“Rais Hassan from Bradford Camera Club, a well-respected international competitor and judge, filled that role most admirably.”

Toby Davies won first place with his photograph of Scaleber Force, but couldn’t attend the presentation ceremony so had the prize collected on his behalf by Mike Woodcock.

The Secondary section winner was Joe Griffin for Looking at the Wharfe, while the second and third prizes in the Adult section went, respectively, to Michael Houghton for The Chase and Andrew Ramsay for Fountains Abbey.

Mr Owens added: “We could not run this competition without the very generous support of our sponsors.

“They are: Rotary of Aireborough, who have been with us from the start; Brewin Dolphin, who have allowed us to make a much wider spread of prizes; Jessops, the photography company, who have added a new dimension to prizes; and Est Display for our printing.”

Barry Bootland, Graham Davies and Brian Witham, from Rotary of Aireborough, presented the Secondary Section prize.

The first place prize for Toby Davies, meanwhile, was presented by Paul Redfearn from Brewin Dolphin who also presented the the second and third place prizes - from Jessops - in the Adult section.