Pictured at the launch of the ‘‘Translink Connections” campaign is (L-R) Translink Station Supervisor Chris McCann and Aileen McGuire aspiring photographer.
Aspiring photographers encouraged to enter a unique photography competition to celebrate ‘Life connections’ made possible by public transport.
Have you ever been curious about where the person sitting next to you on the bus or train are going and for what purpose?
Today, Translink is launching an innovative new photography competition called ‘Translink Connections’ to help answer that question and is challenging student and amateur photographers across Northern Ireland to capture striking and emotive images of ‘life connections’ by public transport.
Public Transport brings people and communities together every day, enabling connections of many kinds and purposes to be made. As part of a new ‘Life Better.Connected’campaign Translink’s new photography competition aims to celebrate and promote the importance of human connections across our society.
Aspiring photographers will be tasked to capture meaningful moments made possible by Translink services and its people across Northern Ireland, based around five key themes of education, economy, environment, health and community. These could be connections to family and friends, connections to work and services, connections to events or key life moments, to communities, to our planet or to ourselves.
Pictured at the launch of the ‘‘Translink Connections” campaign is (L-R) Neal Brown Executive Officer at Translink with Aileen McGuire a budding photographer.
Encouraging photographers to enter Neal Brown, Executive Officer from Translink said:
“We know our passengers have their own stories, adventures and moments of connection using public transport. This creative competition aims to capture these stories that animate the value and importance of public transport.
“We are very excited to launch this initiative, so whether it’s with a professional camera or the smartphone in your pocket, the competition is easy to enter and open to all ages and abilities.
“As well as having the potential to win prizes, the shortlisted and winning images will feature in a Life Better.Connectedphoto exhibition, which will travel across Northern Ireland visiting both Translink stations and other public venues, giving a significant platform for local photography enthusiasts to show off their work.”
Chris Mcann Station Supervisor at Translink pictured on the Grand Central Platform in Belfast with aspiring photographer Aileen McGuire
The competition has already attracted interest from local students in universities and colleges across Northern Ireland as well as amateur photography groups and individuals.
One of the competition judges Dr Clare Gallagher, photography lecturer at Ulster University commented:
“Telling human stories through photography is an important art form. Our students at Ulster University are really looking forward to getting involved in this initiative as it offers lots of ways to get creative as they explore those important human connections and interactions that impact on our people, place and planet.”
Further information including a detailed creative brief outlining key criteria that needs to be met is available at Connections Photo Competition (translink.co.uk)
Terms and conditions will apply, and these can also be found on the website. The competition will close at 5pm on Friday 3rdNovember.
Entry details
Entrants are required to submit up to three photographs with accompanying captions/vignette which helps capture that specific journey or moment in time. They can be at different locations across Northern Ireland and feature various subjects.
Each photograph taken will need appropriate permissions from the photo subjects (via agreed permission forms) and a short vignette type caption of up to 250 words to help tell the story behind the image. It should give a little glimpse as to who and what connections are captured in each image. It is anticipated that along with the photos, these can then be used as part of an exhibition and in future editorial/promotional materials to reinforce the importance of connections shown in the images. Translink vehicles, staff, stops and stations should feature where possible.
In exploring the theme of ‘Life’s Connections’ each image submitted should reflect at least one of the following 5 themes that best represent the key pillars of society most supported by public transport provision:
• Education – access to education at all levels is enabled and facilitated by public transport across Northern Ireland
• Economy- as well as opening up and enabling employment opportunities for many, public transport supports retail/hospitality/night life and tourism sectors
• Environment - sustainable travel offered by public transport is seen as key to addressing climate change and tackling air pollution
• Health – as well as improving air quality, public transport is a recognised form of active travel offering both physical and mental health benefits
• Community/Social Inclusion – public transport brings families, friends and communities together. Many people have no access to a car and our wholly reliant on public transport to connect them with vital services and important relationships.
Images will need to be of sufficient quality to be used in exhibitions and other campaigns. Use of mobile phones therefore will be acceptable as long as image size and quality are good enough.
Entries can be submitted by email, WeTransfer or Dropbox to: