A RHYL man has beaten hundreds of photographers to capture one of the UK's most 'inspiring moments'.

Russ Tierney has won CEWE Photoworld’s 'My Inspiring Moments' competition, which was part of the world’s largest photography competition - the CEWE Photo Award 2019.

Russ, a freelancer owner of Splash Point Photography, caught the eye of judge photographer Julian Calverley with a birds eye view shot of ballet dancer Francesca Contortion surrounded by debris and earned his place alongside 11 other winners from across the UK.

Russ, 34 and originally of Birmingham, said: “This shot was a collaboration between Francesca Contortion, makeup artist Leanne Brown and myself.

"We decided to do a ballet shoot with the juxtaposition of a derelict house which was across the road from me. Despite prep and ideas, inspiration actually hit me the night before that I could shoot down on the 'dance floor' through the missing floor boards."

Ran in collaboration with mental health charity Mind, the competition aimed to raise awareness of the mental health benefits of taking meaningful photos in a world of fast photography and selfies, asking entrants to share their most treasured memories and inspiring moments they had ever captured on camera.

The competition itself was inspired by research discovered that a fifth of people now take the majority of their photos to portray a certain image on social media, with about a quarter - 24 people of people admitting that seeking the perfect shot for social media had made them stressed and anxious in the past.

Clare Moreton, digital marketing director at CEWE Photoworld, said: “Our research found that while people are taking more photos than at any other time in history, the pressure to post our lives on social media has taken away the joy of photography for photography’s sake. The CEWE My Inspiring Moments competition aimed to bring the joy back into photography as an art form, asking people to share the photos that make them feel inspired and optimistic about the world we live in, and Russ’s photo was a perfect example of this.

Russ added: "In terms of it being my inspiring moment, no matter how used to it I get and move on, it's the shot that everyone gravitates towards and will always follow me around. I've joked many a time that it'll be on my grave. I like to think of it as almost a voyeur looking down on someone lost in the moment of their art and at peace while surrounded by the rubble and chaos of the outside world.”

The calendar featuring all 12 winners is available from cewe-photoworld.com, with £5 from the sale of each calendar going to Mind.