AN AMATEUR photographer from Wellington is celebrating after winning a competition.

Paul Steven entered a black and white photograph taken on Beer Beach for a competition being run by South West Coast Path.

The competition asking entrants to capture people enjoying a great day out beside the sea. 

Hundreds of entries were received in the month-long competition and the shortlist can be seen in a Pinterest gallery.

The judge, Marcus had a tough job.

Marcus said: “There are some fantastic pictures covering a wide range of categories which made for deciding a winner quite tricky.

“I chose this photo because it’s composed well, has a good exposure, is crisp and has good contrast throughout the scale but above all it represented the theme of the competition.

“I love that the mood of the photo is enhanced with the use of black and white and overall, it’s something we can all relate to since every person who has ever set foot on a beach has had a race up the beach from the waves.”

Paul said: “I regularly visit Branscombe and the surrounding coastline with my family and the sea was really wild on this occasion.

"We were walking along the beach and I decided to attempt to capture the waves crashing against the shore.

"I am really pleased with this photo and I feel it captured our day out beside the sea perfectly.”

Paul has won an ipad mini 2 courtesy of sponsor South West Water.

For more information about the South West Coast Path Association visit www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk