COULD you show in one image what living in Swindon means to you?

That’s what the Swindon Photographic Society is hoping to see as it launches a competition to celebrate its 120th anniversary.

It’s inviting anyone and everyone to submit entries, whether they’re amateur snappers, a regular submitter to our Camera Club, or a full-time professional photographer,

John Day, 69, from West Swindon has been a member of the society for more than 10 years. He said: “I’ve been interested in photography since my teens but then I started earning money and was too busy, so now I’m retired I finally have time to pursue it as a hobby.

“It’s nice to think that this society has been around in Swindon almost as long as photography itself. Although the technologically has changed dramatically and evolved, the fundamentals remain the same - it’s very accessible because the biggest skill is knowing where to point the camera and when to press the button.

“The club is there to help people who find photography fascinating and want to share their photos and ideas with others face to face, and to help them take better photos.

“People take them for a variety of reasons - to record something for posterity, to creative something expressive, or for technical reasons when.doing plumbing and electrical work.

“As long as you enjoy doing it, that’s all that matters.”

The society began when eight people gathered at the technical school in Swindon to form the North Wilts Field and Camera Club in April 1898.It now boasts 60 members of all ages and meets regularly for a programme of workshops, talks and social meet-ups.

John added: “The rise of digital technology and social media has seen the amount of photographs being taken rise significantly, it’s more widespread than ever before. I see no reason why the society can’t continue for another 120 years -I wonder what the technology will be like then...

"For the competition, we want people to take photos of whatever comes to mind when they think about Swindon, it can be absolutely anything."

To enter the What Swindon Means To Me competition, visit swindonphotosoc.org.uk/120years before March 1.

The top prize is £120 cash, one pound for every year the club has been active as the Swindon and North Wilts Field and Camera Club, the Swindon Camera Club or the Swindon Photographic Society.

Only one entry per person can be submitted and each photo must be taken within the Swindon borough's boundaries. All entries must be your own work and will be judged by a panel that will then select a shortlist.

The panel will include representatives from the Link magazine, John Lewis & Partners, and the Swindon Advertiser.

The shortlist will be judged by the society's president on April 11. Finalists will be invited to join the society for the evening of judging.

All photos must be a maximum of 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels tall, of the highest possible resolution and in a jpg format.

Image files must be named with a short title featuring an underscore and the photographer's name, eg. TheBeginning_JohnStart.jpg

Photos taken by phone can be sent directly via email to 120years@swindonphotosoc.org.uk with the subject line including SPS 120 Years followed by a space and the entrant's name.