Children from the Shutter Hire photography club in Dinas Powys is going to be exhibiting their work at Pier Pavilion this December.

The club, set up by Katrina Dimech a year ago, teaches local children camera skills by an industry standard photographer.

Ms. Dimech said: ''The children are aged between 6 and 13 and came to me with little knowledge of photography skills but with a passion for the art.

''They have all made new friends and their sense of independence and confidence has grown. For children who aren't necessarily academic they benefit largely from a creative outlet.''

''The children are taught a mixture of theoretical and practical skills and they are all now able to use their DSLR cameras in manual settings. I'm a firm believer in outdoor teaching.

''We have taken trips to the Photography show in Birmingham and visited Bristol Zoo. We regularly photograph local sites such as Cosmeston, Penarth Seafront and Dinas Powys Mill Fields.

''We have been lucky to get funding to buy surplus camera equipment from local people such as Brett Mason from Masons Removals, Dinas Powys Community Council and The Barry Round Table.

''We have purchased 6 cameras so that our club is available to those who aren't in a position to provide their own cameras.''

The children will be exhibiting on the 17th of December.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 1pm, anyone can come along and vote for their favourite images, and the children will be attending from 4:30pm - 6:30pm to answer questions about their work.

Shutter Hire are also running a wider photography competition for children which is free to enter.

Entries must be submitted by the 13th December in print form.

Each child who enters will be presented with a certificate. There are further medals to be won. This has been started to encourage other local children the opportunity to try their hand at photography.

There will be four categories that the children can enter their photos into. Only one photo can be submitted per category:

• Nature

• Reflection

The public will then vote on the entries and there are 4 trophies to be won across 4 age categories (Year 1 & 2, Year 3 & 4, Year 5 & 6, Year 7 & 8).

For more information and to get in contact with Shutter Hire click the red button below.