SOME of the county’s most picturesque landmarks and the bright lights of carnival season have inspired a photographer to enter VisitWiltshire’s photographic competition.

John Newbury, who was born in Salisbury, but currently lives in Warminster, has returned to his home city for one of his submissions as part of the annual photo competition staged to highlight the wealth of photographic talent and awe inspiring sights the county has to offer.

Having spent 23-years in the Royal Navy and served on submarines, frigates and destroyers he spent a further 11 years working with the MOD and six years as a defence contractor. This has seen him lie on the Isle of Wight, in Plymouth, Scotland and Southampton.

“I moved back to Wiltshire in 1986, after leaving the Royal Navy and retired 10 years ago,” he said. “I have been a keen photographer since my schooldays and now I am spending the kids’ inheritance on travel and photography!”

Heading back to his place of birth he visited Salisbury Cathedral specifically to take some photos of the floodlit building. “When I arrived it wasn’t quite dark,” he said. “The result was mixture of darkness, with stars in the sky and the last of the setting sun lighting up the clouds on the horizon. It looks much better than with the building in total darkness."

He also captured a picturesque shot of an iconic Wiltshire landmark a little further north when his wife was driving to Swindon to make a delivery. “I asked her to drop me off at Avebury and pick me up on her return,” he said. “Just after I arrived the heavens opened, I took shelter in the gift shop waiting for the rain to stop. As the sun reappeared so did the double rainbow – directly opposite the gift shop door.”

His next submission of Shearwater in Warminster again happened completely by chance as it caught his eye while he was driving past, although he was actually on his way to Stourhead to take his fourth submitted picture at the time.

“I often visit Stourhead – it’s never the same,” he said. “This was late summer, I went to see how the leaves were changing and I went early when there were no people and no ripples on the lake – but there was still a bit of early morning mist on the lake and in the trees.

“Warminster Carnival is always good for colourful photos, especially the ‘professional’ floats made for the big carnivals such as Bridgwater, some of which visit Warminster. It is always a technical challenge to get a good end result photo due to the varying intensity and type of lighting used.”

Photographers wishing to enter the contest should send their submissions to photocompetition@visitwiltshire.co.uk. The competition is open to anyone aged 18 and over. In addition to the main prize of a £300 voucher there will also be two runners up prizes of £50 in vouchers as well.

Only colour, digital photos will be accepted and all photographs must be submitted as jpeg or tiff attachments, minimum size 1000 x 700 pixels; minimum resolution 300dpi.

Visit www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/ideas-and-inspiration/competitions for more details.