Hartlepool photographer's work shortlisted in world-wide competition

Kate Ainger began taking photographs when she was at school, but has started to spend more time on the skill during the last year.

She was pushed to start entering competitions after taking part in a seminar, which looked at different aspects of photography as well as ways to spread the word about images people had taken.

She submitted six of her pieces to the Historic Photographer of the Year Awards, with two of Rievaux Abbey and another of a graveyard shed in a Helmsley, both in North Yorkshire, among those shortlisted.

Kate, 38, who lives in the Burn Valley area and works for Hartlepool Borough Council as a research officer with its community safety team, was thrilled to find out she had made the cut to the final selection.

“It’s amazing and when I first found out I was ringing everybody saying ‘Oh my God’ and I was so pleased,” she said.

“I found the seminar really inspirational and people were talking about landscapes and using black and white, different aspects of technique, but the part I found most interesting was how to share your work.

“We take photos and put them on Facebook or Instagram and that’s about it, but that’s as far as it can go for some.

“Someone mentioned competitions, and I’d never even considered it before.

“I started searching for one and I saw this.

“I like going out across the North East, along the coast and countryside, but I always like to look for something else and a bit different.

“It gets you out into the fresh air and to different places and you get to experience what is going on and meet different people.”

The competition comes down to a public vote, with the deadline for entries at the end of this month.

The challenge was set up to celebrate and capture the very best historic places and cultural sites across the globe, from the most famous national treasures to the most obscure hidden gems.

The entries will be judged by a panel of experts including broadcaster and historian Dan Snow, All About History Magazine Editor-in-Chief James Hoare and David Gilbert, chairman of Creative United.

The public can have their say in who they think should win by visiting https://photographer.triphistoric.com/vote/.