Up, up and away! Colourful hot air balloon tops photo contest

THE images of a hot air balloon floating through the sky and a wooden bench standing alone in a park were picked as the winners of a photography competition celebrating Darley Abbey.

The competition was organised by Nigel Tissington, who runs Mill Photo Studios, as part of Darley Abbey Day.

Caroline Atkins’ photograph of a hot air balloon floating above Darley Abbey, which won the over-16s category.

About 50 people entered one of the two age categories and the winners were picked by Derby Telegraph picture editor Victoria Wilcox.

She said: "It was a difficult competition to judge as there were so many different photographs capturing so many different elements of Darley Abbey.

"There were lots of different themes and styles and all were of a very high quality."

It was the picture of a hot air balloon floating through the blue sky above the village, taken by Caroline Atkins, of Elvaston, that was picked as the winner of the over-16 category.

The black and white image of a bench overlooking Darley Park, captured by 15-year-old Ellie Capron, who is from Dorset but was visiting the city, was named as the winner of the 11-to-16 category.

Victoria said: "I loved the colours of the hot air balloon picture, while the image of the wooden bench shows that Ellie has a great eye at such a young age."

Darley Abbey Day was organised to bring the community together and raise money for charities, including the British Red Cross and the Derbyshire Children's Holiday Centre in Skegness.

The photography competition raised £150 through its £3 entry fee and a further £100 was raised at Mill Photo Studios by people who donated money during their visit.

It was the third time that Darley Abbey Day had been held but it was the first time that Mr Tissington had run the photography competition.

Both winners were given a £50 voucher for the studios and the pictures were framed by Friar Gate Framing, all based in the village.

Mr Tissington said: "We had a great response to the competition and the quality of the pictures was very impressive.

"The only remit for the pictures was Darley Abbey and the photographs captured so many different aspects of the village."