Prizes have been presented to the winners of a photography competition run by the

Henry Bloom Noble Library in February as part of its support of Island of Culture 2014.

First place winner Ron Strathdee, second left, third place winner Paul Marriott, extreme right, with Andrew Barton and the library's Sophie Mills

Each month during 2014 the library is organising themed cultural activities. February’s was ‘A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words’ with amateur photographers invited to submit a ‘never before seen’ image of the Isle of Man.

The competition was judged by local professional photographer Andrew Barton (pictured below) who awarded first place to Ron Strathdee for his inspired photograph of Beckwith mines at Glen Rushen. Second place went to Elisha Barton (no relation) for a reflective image of Douglas Bay and the war memorial and third place to Paul Marriott for his photograph of a tranquil Niarbyl beach.

Presenting the prizes, Waterstone's vouchers donated by the library, Mr Barton said: ‘The competition - another great idea from the library team - revealed some outstandingly talented photographers who depicted the beauty of the Isle of Man in new and evocative ways. This made judging a pleasure but also a challenge, given the high standard of entries. I congratulate the three winners on warming to the Island of Culture theme so enthusiastically and creatively and I should also like to pay tribute to everyone who entered for sharing their obvious love of photography with us.’

First place - Ron Strathdee

Second place - Elisha Barton

Third place - Paul Marriott