Birmingham Cathedral invites members of the public to view the winning images from its Faith in Focus photography competition, supported by the Birmingham Post. The shots were taken by local people on the theme of faith in our city, and will be on display in the Library of Birmingham until the end of November.
 
The Faith in Focus photography competition, supported by Birmingham Post, was opened to the public in January 2015, as part of the cathedral’s Tercentenary Celebrations. The aim of the competition was to encourage a wide range of people to engage creatively with the idea of faith in our city. The competition was judged by The Very Revd Catherine Ogle, Dean of Birmingham, Stacey Barnfield, Director of Edwin Ellis Creative Media and Jas Sansi, Photographer.
 
One of the winning images, entitled ‘Blue Winter’s Soul’ by Roz Guy, was selected to star on the front of the cathedral’s Christmas card, which is on sale to raise funds for the Cathedral Choir.
The photographers were also invited to name their images, and submitted such names as ‘Sundae Worship’ for a photo of an ice cream van and ‘Leap of Faith’ for a photo of a boy jumping
from a bench.
 
The cathedral received a very wide range of photos, including one by Birmingham photographer Robert Jones of the Archbishop of Canterbury admiring the famous Burne-Jones windows.
One of the winners said: ‘It’s such a lovely idea, I’m really looking forward to my son seeing the image of himself.’ Photographers were invited to enter their image into one of four categories:
A Crossing Place: Images taken either inside the cathedral or outside in Cathedral Square, reflecting the building as place of worship or its key location within the city.
People of God: Images featuring individuals or groups engaged in the cathedral or its square.
Faith in the City: Images reflecting any faith across our city.
Growing Younger: Images inspired by the diocesan-wide ‘growing younger’ initiative, which aims to pass on the baton of the Christian gospel to children, families, students and young adults.
 
The Very Revd Catherine Ogle, Dean of Birmingham said: ‘We’ve had a wonderful year celebrating the 300 birthday of the cathedral. These photographs capture the different moods and aspects of the cathedral and its people in this tercentenary year, as well as the diverse faiths of our city. I hope that the exhibition at the New Library brings pride to the competition winners and pleasure to viewers.’