Stones of various shapes and sizes provided the inspiration for the seventh of Thurso Camera Club’s weekly photo challenges.

Alex Henderson took first place with a composition featuring a pebble with a heart shape on it, and she is now 21 points clear in the overall standings.

The top six on the subject of "stone" were: 1 Alex Henderson, Love stone; 2 (joint) James Gunn, Gerston millstone, and Tony Beck, Working with stone; 4 Neil Holden, St Fergus spire; 5 Jean MacKay, Stone roses; 6 Bob Murdoch, Rabbit pi.

Overall league standings after seven rounds: 1 Alex Henderson, 63 points; 2 Neil Buchan, 42; 3 James Gunn, 40; 4 Jean MacKay, 40; 5 Jane Foster, 38; 6 Neil Holden, 31.

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The weekly photo challenge was introduced after the club’s outdoor summer field trips had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis. A different theme is chosen each week and voting is carried out online. First place gains 10 points, down to one point for 10th.

Club chairman James Gunn explained: "The club's weekly challenge is a speeded-up version of the normal monthly competitions held over the autumn and winter. The members that participate are fully embracing the opportunity to keep their hobby going through these strange times and to use their imagination to produce eye-catching images.

"The voting by fellow members gives a competitive edge, but the main aim of the voting is to give direct feedback on the impact that their images have. This should help members to improve their technique and photographic eye for producing that elusive perfect image with a big wow factor.

"Once the Covid-19 crisis is over, I hope that the images, published online and in print, will encourage people to come along to the club's indoor sessions in the Pentland Hotel and outdoor summer field trips, so that they can learn to improve from fellow enthusiasts and attain their full artistic potential. Photography is mainly an art and not a science."

James added: "Going by the amount of photos on social media of a high standard, there are hundreds of budding photographers in the north with great potential. Fancy, expensive gear is not required as a good image can be produced using any camera, including mobile phones."

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