As Moray and Speyside close in on the 2015 Spirit of Speyside whisky festival an invitation has gone out for the public to vote for their favourite images submitted in an annual competition.
From thousands of entries a panel of judges have selected 21 images in the ‘People’s Choice Award’ for 2015 – now the public are being asked to vote on their favourites.
Each year Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Photography Competition, jointly sponsored by Benromach, draws entries from across the globe. This year proved no exception, with entries submitted from Speyside to Slovakia.
The overall winner receives a five-day commission to attend the 2015 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival from April 30 to May 4 where they can capture the passion, revelry and atmosphere of the event, along with other great prizes.
Festival chairman James Campbell was part of the judging panel that decided the short list for the People’s Choice. He said: “This competition helps raise the profile of the Festival, but just as importantly it has given amateur photographers the chance to share their work with the public when they may not have otherwise been able to do so. In all three categories there are some truly fantastic images.
“The shortlisted photographs will form part of a touring exhibition, which will help us to spread the word about the Festival across Scotland. We will be asking exhibition visitors to vote for their favourite image for the People’s Choice Award.”
An exhibition of images from the competition will tour Moray and Speyside throughout the summer (dates and places below) as well as at the Scotch Whisky Experience on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile during the Edinburgh Festival.
Further details of the events at the Spirit of Speyside and how to obtain tickets can be found online. Voting for the People’s Choice is now open at https://www.spiritofspeyside.com/photography_competition.
The Spirit of Speyside Photography Competition Exhibition tour dates:
• Johnstons of Elgin: 30 March-10 April
• Benromach Distillery, Forres: 13-27 April
• Dufftown and Aberlour Festival Information Hubs: 30 April- 4 May
• Baxters of Speyside, Fochabers: 5-15 May
• Elgin Library: 18-29 May
• Buckie Library: 1-12 June
• Aberlour Library: 15-26 June
• Piping at Forres European Pipe Band Championships: 27 June