Energy focus for Science 03’s photo contest
TO celebrate 10 years of running successful events, the Caithness International Science Festival is holding a photography competition with the theme "Energy in Caithness".
Organiser Science O3 is celebrating a decade of bringing knowledge to the masses by getting keen snappers around the county involved with creative imagery – while thinking about the many forms of science in the local environment.
Founding member and chairman of the committee Professor Iain Baikie explained the reasoning behind the theme of the contest.
"We felt that our theme, ‘Energy in Caithness’, could be interpreted by different people in different ways," he said.
"They could take it literally, for example the power of the Pentland Firth or wind or nuclear energy. However, it could also be interpreted as the energy in the climate or the energy in the people. By using this theme we thought it was highly appropriate to the developments going on here at the moment."
The theme will extend beyond the photography competition, culminating in the festival held in March.
Professor Baikie explained the group will be looking for top-quality, creative variations on the subject, with the artistic eye of a local award-winning professional photographer judging the entries later this summer.
"We have an excellent judge in John Baikie," he said. "I think the fact that he is getting involved and will pick the winner is great."
Prizes will be awarded at a ceremony at Caithness Horizons in Thurso in September for the four categories: P1 to P4, P5 to 7, 11-to-18-years and over 18s.
There will also be a people’s choice award, run through Facebook, where the public can vote for their favourite photograph.
The winner of the over-18s’ section will receive a £100 cash prize for photographic equipment, while the younger winners will receive an hour’s tutorial with John Baikie. Runners-up in each category and the winner of the "people’s choice" vote will each receive book tokens.
The competition is the committee’s attempt to broaden the scope of the festival’s appeal into the lives of the general public as well as the local schools. The current plan is to hold a sequence of events or themes targeted at different people. This includes having guest lecturers which appeal to both the public and to the younger generation later in the year.
Entries to the photography competition can be submitted by e-mail to scienceo3@kelvinprobe.com or via the Science O3 Facebook page. Hard copies of photos can also be submitted to the Science O3 office c/o KP Technology, 12a Burn Street, Wick KW1 5EH.
Photographs submitted electronically should be in JPEG format, at least 1.5MB, and no larger than 5MB, and available at a sufficiently high resolution (at least 300dpi) for printing.
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Only one entry per individual will be accepted. Entries should also include the photographer’s full name, age, address, phone number and e-mail address, and a short caption to accompany the photograph.
A selection of photographs may be used in future Caithness International Science Festivals.
The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday, September 2, 2011.
Competition details can also be found on the Science O3 website at www.science03.org/index.html