ARE you an aspiring portrait photographer? Ever fancied having your work displayed in the Burton alongside famous artists? Well now's your chance.

This autumn an exciting exhibition opens at the Burton Art Gallery and Museum featuring some of Lord Snowdon's most iconic portraits.

To celebrate, the Journal has teamed up with the Burton to hold a photographic portrait competition.

We're looking for photographers who are over ten years of age and of any ability (with the exception of professionals).

The competition will be judged by Journal photographer Mike Southon, a freelance photographer who runs his own studio, and Andy Robinson of J&A Cameras and Photography, craftsman of the Guild of Wedding Photographers.

The exhibition, In Camera: Snowdon, comes to the Burton from Thursday, October 27, to Saturday, December 24, and includes around 65 iconic photographs by Snowdon.

These depict a fascinating crop of some of the most important figures in recent art history including Frank Auerbach, Peter Blake, William Coldstream, John Piper, Graham Sutherland, Joe Tilson, David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Mark Wallinger, the Chapman Brothers, Chris Ofili and Rachel Whiteread.

"Snowdon is one of my all time favourite photographers," said Andy of J&A Cameras and Photography. "He is the main reason I took up portrait photography and I have studied his composition and his use of natural light, which still astonishes me and influences my own work.

"The guidelines for this competition are not too rigid so I hope to see lots of creative entries and I'm looking forward to seeing the undoubted talent that North Devon holds."

For the competition judges are looking for images with good composition that offer the viewer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the person represented.

It should tell you something about that person or group of people, whether it be in the body language of the person or an object in the picture. Ideally the portrait will connect with the viewer in some way.

"There is a huge difference between a simple photograph of a person, and a portrait," said Journal photographer Mike Southon. "A true portrait is an image that tells you about the person, lets you see into their life, to see what interests them, and of course what makes them tick. The Portrait Photographer can use many tools including light, composition, and expression to create a meaningful window into the subject's soul.

"The photographic greats including Snowdon, all had distinctive approaches and styles, producing many iconic images that have helped us understand and know some of the world's famous faces over the years.

"I am very much looking forward to seeing what North Devon's photographers come up with – so get creating, and send your portraits in."

Six images will be selected as winners, three for the over 16s' entries and three from the 10-16-year-old category. All six will be mounted and displayed in the Burton, Café du Parc, from Thursday, October 27, to Saturday, December 24, at the same time as the In Camera: Snowdon exhibition runs in the Burton.

Winning entries will be selected on the above criteria and the judge's decision will be final. In addition we will be publishing some of the entries to the competition in the lead up to the deadline, so get those entries in early for a chance to see your work printed in the Journal.

Winners will be notified either by e-mail, phone or post by Monday, October 24 and announced in the Journal on Thursday, October 27.

How to enter: Send your entries to burtonphotocomp@northdevonjour nal.co.uk

Images should be JPG format with a resolution of 200dpi, picture widths up to 15cm. A maximum of 2mb per image. (Entrants should also retain the original unaltered image in the highest possible resolution in case they win the competition and their image is required to be wall mounted, as this will ensure the best quality reproduction). Non digital entries can dropped off at the Burton Art Gallery and Museum in Bideford's Kingsley Road or J&A Cameras in Barnstaple's Gammon Walk.

These are submitted at the owner's risk and must be collected by the owner no later than Sunday, November 4.

Please include with your entry: your name, age, category entered (over 16s or 10 – 16 year olds), contact details (e-mail, phone, postal address), the title of the image. Mark the subject heading of your e-mail with your name.

The deadline for competition entry is Thursday, October 13 at 5pm, entries received after 5pm will not be included.

For general terms and conditions see the Journal classifieds.

The competition is open to amateur photographers only; submissions are limited to one entry per category, per person; all photographs must have been taken by the applicant in the last 12 months and must not have been exhibited previously; dates for submissions must be in accordance with the dates listed; the judges decision is final; photographs will not be for sale either through the North Devon Journal or via the Burton; the North Devon Journal and the Burton Art Gallery and Museum assumes the right to use the images in connection with publicity and promotion of this competition and related events.