Over 100 local people and visitors to Hastings voted for their favourite image from a wide and diverse selection of original photographs displayed on Sunday 2 March on Hastings Pier. A group of 20 local photography enthusiasts showcased over 100 images from their first ever 'Hastings the Word' Photo Challenge.

The budding photographers are all members of the Channel Hastings group on the popular photo-sharing site Flickr. It currently consists of 125 members comprising both local residents and visitors to Hastings and has approximately 1650 photos taken in and around Hastings.

The winner of the Challenge was local photography enthusiast Andy Wilson. Andy's 'Hastingswood' image proved to be the most popular shot and he received a £35 voucher from local print company Martel Colour Print. Andy Wilson said: "The quality of the entries was extremely high so I'm both very flattered and amazed to have won. Thanks to all of the other entrants for making it a success to be proud of."

The Channel Hastings stall on the Pier proved to be very popular with many people voting on their favourite images from the 'Hastings The Word' challenge and purchasing unique local postcards in support of the local The Sara Lee Trust.

Freelance photographer and organiser of the challenge Terry Russell said: "The Challenge vote has proven to be such a success that we are going to enable  local people to cast their vote online for their favourite photographs when they visit the Channel Hastings website”.

After the popularity of the ‘Hastings The Word’ theme the photography enthusiasts have decided to launch a 'United Colours of Hastings' challenge for the month of March.

To participate in March's 'United Colours of Hastings' photo challenge all budding photographers need to sign up for a Flickr account. The basic membership is free and after joining Flickr they can then join the Channel Hastings group on Flickr and participate in the latest photo challenge.

To find out more information visit the Channel Hastings website at www.channelhastings.com or contact Terry at terry[at]channelhastings.com or on 07969 062 572

Channel Hastings

Channel Hastings is a website set up by local freelance photographer Terry Russell. The website aims to showcase and celebrate the very best of Hastings and the local area through a unique collection of inspirational photographs from a community of photography enthusiasts who reside or visit Hastings.

Channel Hastings

Flickr

Flickr is a popular photo-sharing site that supports an active and engaged community where people share and explore each other's photos. Flickr was acquired by Yahoo! in 2003 and currently hosts just over one billion photos from a worldwide community of photography enthusiasts.

Flickr

Martel Colour Print

Martel Colour Print is based at The Creative Media Hastings, East Sussex and specialises in large format digital colour printing.

Martel Colour Print