26 August 2007

Harry Benson congratulates Holyrood photography winners

Winners of a Scottish Parliament photography competition had the chance to meet two of Scotland's leading photographers at the Parliament's Festival of Politics on Saturday 26 August.

Renowned photographer Harry Benson and photojournalist Kieran Dodds joined Deputy Presiding Officer Trish Godman to meet the winners following the Festival's " Life of the Lens event", which discussed the influence of photography on journalism since the mid-20th century.

The winning images look back at the celebrations marking the Third Session of Parliament earlier this summer.

See a selection of the images in the gallery.

The photographs show the Riding down the Royal Mile and the Picnic at the Parliament concert on Saturday 30 June.

They are displayed in a new exhibition in Holyrood’s garden lobby, alongside official parliamentary photographs of the day.

Harry Benson said: "This exhibition demonstrates that you don’t have to be a professional to make the most of a photo opportunity.

"Photography is a wonderful way to capture the spirit of an occasion, and it is great to see people using their cameras to get involved in an historic event.”

The exhibition was viewed by visitors to the Festival’s Open Parliament Day on Sunday 26 August.

The winners were: Jessica Leung Miller, Vroni Holzmann, Danielle Calder, John Pitcairn, Miguel Arredondo, Margaret Pitcairn, Fred Penfold, Richard Dyson, Jennifer Robertson, Agnes Murphy and James Scott Moffat.

See a selection of images in the photo gallery.

Read more about Saturday 30 June and Session Three
of the Parliament

'Open Parliament' provided an exciting opportunity for visitors young and old to look behind the scenes of Scotland ’s iconic parliament building and join in a range of fun activities.

Families had the chance to visit the Debating Chamber, see Michael Lloyd's silver Mace and make a rubbing of its design and follow the treasure trail to win a prize.

Portraits by Harry Benson of the Parliament's former Presiding Officers, Sir David Steel and George Reid, went on display at the Parliament on Thursday 23 August. More details.

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