Photograph showcase aims to attract visitors

BEAUTIFUL: Natalie Gascoigne's photo, Strolling through roadside fields of gold in Martin- borough, which won last year's Martinborough summer pix competition.PHOTO/NATALIE GASCOIGNE

Martinborough Village is calling for people to showcase in pictures what summertime in Martinborough means to them.

The Martinborough summer pix online photo competition, which anyone in the world can enter, kicks off from January 1 and runs until the end of February.

People can load their own photos onto the Martinborough Village website, selecting the Village Hub tab, from New Year's Day.

"It's really just to showcase the many things that happen in our wonderful region," said Martinborough resident Trish Higginson, who created the competition last year.

"I thought we may get about 20 pictures but it snowballed and we got 240."

She said people had entered from all over the country, with some entrants from Australia.

"Martinborough needs promotion because it's not on the way to anywhere, it's not on the state highway [SH2].

"If we can showcase all the beautiful and interesting places then we could inspire people to visit."

Mrs Higginson said many Martinborough businesses had donated prizes for categories that would be judged, which included best animal, children, sunrise/sunset pictures.

There would also be a separate competition for under-13s to enter their snaps.

The first place winner could look forward to a night for two at Peppers Parehua's lakeside cottage, with meals included.

Photographs would be judged by four professional photographers and a prizegiving is to be held in March, Mrs Higginson said.