Clean Coasts’ 13th annual ‘Love Your Coast’ photography competition has officially opened for entries as Donegal photographers are urged to send their best snaps of our beautiful county.
The ‘Love Your Coast competition asks for amateur photographers to capture and celebrate the uniqueness of our coastal communities, environments, or waterways such as its stunning coastline, beautiful beaches, epic cliff faces, and raging rivers.
Clean Coasts Love Your Coast photography competition Coastal Landscape category’s 1st place image by Gary McLaughlin entitled Dunree Panoramic and taken at Linsfort, Buncrana, Inishowen Peninsula, Co. Donegal
Donegal has some of the most spectacular coastlines in the world and we want to encourage people to get out their cameras this summer as they explore the Irish coast and capture its beauty.
2021 was a fantastic year for images of County Donegal, as we saw Donegal photographer Gary McLaughlin won first place in the Coastal Landscape category for his photo entitled Dunree Panoramic (above), taken in Linsfort, Buncrana on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal.
Clean Coasts Love Your Coast photography competition Wildlife and the Coast category’s shortlisted image by Maja Stankovski entitled You Can’t See Me.
Photographers have until 9 am on Monday the 29th August 2022 to submit their best images in one of five categories to be in with the chance to win a prize fund of €5,000 across all categories.
The categories for this year include:
1. Wildlife and Underwater
2. Coastal Landscape
3. People and the Coast
4. Coastal Heritage
5. Creativity and the Coast
Clean Coasts Love Your Coast photography competition Coastal Heritage category’s shortlisted image by Malcolm Hough entitled Wreck.
Each year ‘Love Your Coast’ draws in a large amount of interest from Ireland’s amateur photographers, coastal enthusiasts, and conservation and biodiversity-minded.
Clean Coasts have ensured there is a diverse range of categories to make sure there is something for everyone.
Photographers are encouraged to explore new and different methods and angles in capturing the coastal regions and wildlife and would discourage photographing of locations and species that have been heavily submitted in previous years.
Working with communities on the ground, Clean Coasts’ mission is to help foster pride in our coastline, supporting Clean Coasts communities, groups, and volunteers to tackle issues affecting their local area. This competition provides an opportunity to view the coast and our waterways that the Clean Coasts programme works to protect from a completely different perspective and see the beauty captured therein.
Clean Coasts Love Your Coast photography competition Coastal Landscape category’s shortlisted image by Kenny Goodison entitled Malin Head Sunset.
Clean Coast manager Sinead McCoy stated:
“The Clean Coasts programme works with communities and supports them in their efforts to protect our coastline. What the Love Your Coast Photography competition does is augment this work by showcasing our breathtaking coastline which helps foster and inspire both the public and communities to protect it into the future.”
Visit the Clean Coasts website to find out more about the competition and how to enter at: https://cleancoasts.org/our-initiatives/love-your-coast/
There is also an exposure page to see a gallery of all the shortlisted top 10 images from 2021: https://cleancoasts.exposure.co/love-your-coast-2021
