The winners of the LookWest.ie photo competition ‘Capture a Sligo Summer Moment’ were announced today following an exhibition of the top twenty finalists that was held in the Capture Gallery, Sligo’s only dedicated fine art photography exhibition space.  Laura Hunt is the overall winner with her shot of ‘Summer Jumping’ taken on the sunny sand dunes of Strandhill, followed closely by runner up Radka Bartova’s ‘Summer Music Session on Strandhill Beach’.  To view the rest of the entries and the prize-giving photos visit our Facebook page.

“We had over 500 entries to the photo competition from locals and visitors who were creatively snapping around Sligo during the month of July”, said Joanne Grehan, Regional Development Executive at the Western Development Commission (WDC).

“The competition and exhibition were organised as part of the WDC’s LookWest.ie initiative to promote the Western Region as a great place to live, work and do business and all the photographs truly capture the essence of the West.  The standard of photography was extremely high and entries included Sligo GAA, the Lissadell events with Leonard Cohen and Westlife and of course the wonderful summer sunshine.  

“Members of the public were invited to vote for their favourite images from amongst the 20 that had been shortlisted by a judging panel of Sligo photographers.  Voting took place within the Capture Gallery and online via LookWest.ie and the competition registered almost 1,000 votes with many voters from around globe”, added Joanne.
The overall winner Laura Hunt, is a busy 16 year old student, heavily involved in the County Sligo Youth Theatre, photography, volunteering for local festivals and performing as a stilt walker. She has also just returned from Italy after taking part in an intercultural exchange.  Runner up, Radka Bartova’s, who is originally from the Czech Republic has been living and working in Sligo for the past 4 years.  Radka has studied tourism but her passion is photography.
Laura Hunt received a netbook from Fastcom, local broadband providers and runner up Radka Bartova received a voucher from KoKo Latte Boutique Café and Lounge. All entrants were given prints of their photos to take home.

“Competitions like this would not be possible without the help and support of partners and sponsors and we are particularly thankful to Capture Gallery, Fastcom, KoKo Latte Boutique Café and Lounge, Printfix and the Sligo Chamber who all helped to make this competition such a success”, concluded Ms Grehan.