Arts & Culture

If you've ever seen a photograph for sale with a giant price tag and thought you could do a better job than the professionals, then now is your chance to get snapping.

The Norwich Arts Centre is launching the Norfolk Photographer Of The Year competition - where you could scoop your own exhibition.

The contest is open to everyone, whether you're a professional photographer obsessed with using a gamut of lenses and twiddling manual controls or an amateur snapper with a throw-away camera.

Classroom cut-outs are the focus here

The theme of Little Things is open to interpretation, with the judges scouring each entry for its quality and originality.

Adult and youth categories

There are two categories to enter: adult and under 18, with the winner of each section clinching the Norfolk Photographer Of The Year and Young Photographer Of The Year.

The St Benedict's Street venue is offering the winner of the adult title an opportunity to boost their profile with a solo exhibition, for which they'll be paid £500 and receive a year's membership to the venue's media lab and darkroom.

Two exhibitions

It's expected that the exhibition would be held in 2009 to give the person who scoops the prize enough time to collect together a body of work to display.

Those keen to survey the county's photographic talent won't have to wait until next year though - the 25 finalists will have their pictures put on show at a special Norwich Arts Centre exhibition from 17 July to 13 September, 2008 and featured in an accompanying catalogue.

The winner will be picked halfway through this exhibition, and there will also be a People's Prize voted for by visitors, with the result announced at the end of the run.

Young photographers are being encouraged to enter, with £200 of photographic vouchers and a year's free membership of the media lab and darkroom up for grabs for the youth category winner.

As with the adult competition, runner-up prizes of £100 and £50 vouchers will be awarded.

The closing date for entries is Monday, 2 June, 2008 and photographers must live in Norfolk. The submissions must be entered on CD and each artist must include six pictures in jpg format (600 dpi) which reflect the Little Things theme.

If your work is traditionally printed then Norwich Arts Centre will require the originals but not at entry stage. Download the entry form from the Norwich Arts Centre website.