Amateur photographers have an opportunity to capture the spirit of our area in an exclusive photography contest.

North Hampshire Tourism, the body promoting tourism throughout Rushmoor, Hart and Basingstoke and Deane, has teamed up with the News Group in an effort to find the photographs that capture the best of north Hampshire.

The winner will receive £100 in vouchers and have their winning photograph published in the News Group newspapers, with £60 for the runner-up and £40 for the third placed picture.

In addition, all shortlisted photographs will be published in the Hampshire Countryside visitor guide 2009 and on the official tourism website www.hampshirescountryside.co.uk.

The winning pictures will be judged by our professional News Group photographers Alistair Wilson and Christopher Whiteoak, both of whom were shortlisted for Photographer of the Year at last month’s Press Gazette Regional Press Awards in London.

The two will sit down alongside representatives from North Hampshire Tourism to decide the winners in August.

There are four categories, into which photographers can enter as many or as few photographs as they like.

In the first category, Romantic Countryside, judges will be looking for images that capture the rolling hills, shady woods, ancient hedgerows or rare plants and animals of our area.

The competition organisers are keen to show that even for those of us trapped in bustling town centres, it is a welcome release to know that such fine scenery is never more than a few minutes away.

The second category is Nostalgic North Hampshire, which seeks to find images showing the historical legacy of the area.

Whether it is Aldershot’s past and current association with the Army, Farnborough’s roots in aviation history, or some of our more subtle links with the past, judges will be looking to see pictures which show portraits of times gone by while not necessarily ignoring their impact on the present.

The third category, Active and Sustainable is about sport, leisure and socialising. With hundreds of activities and pastimes on offer in this part of the world, the aim of this category is to show off how people spend their free time.

While the judges expect to see great images of activities such as walking, cycling and sailing, any shots which show the variety of ways people keep fit or spend their leisure time, or anywhere that people hang out together, will be more than welcome.

The fourth and final category, Gorgeous Villages, looks to show off some of the area’s finest picture postcard architecture, views and life in general from some of the beautiful towns and villages of north-east Hampshire.

To enter send photos, in a high-quality electronic format, to monika.materna-brossier@hants.gov.uk.

Entries should be sent with just one photograph per email, with the photographs ideally sent as a jpeg attachment, no larger than 5mb in size.

Include your name, address, email address and contact telephone number.

Your details will only be used in the administration of the competition and not for any outside marketing purposes.

Photographs do not need to be new but they must be the photographer’s own work and cannot have been published before. The deadline for entry is noon on August 11.

Terms and conditions of the competition are available at www.hampshirescountryside.co.uk/competition.