Judges have chosen the three winners of a new competition launched to showcase photographic talent and capture the essence of the city's iconic buildings.

Peter Walsh and Sam Emanuel

Judges have chosen the three winners of a new competition launched to showcase photographic talent and capture the essence of the city's iconic buildings.

More than 180 entries were received for the Norwich 12 competition, which was organised by HEART, the Heritage and Economic Regeneration Trust, to raise awareness of the buildings which make Norwich unique.

A winner was chosen from each building category, and of these an overall winner was selected, along with two that were highly commended.

Steve Denby, 48, of Woodview Court in New Costessey, took first place overall with his photograph of Norwich Castle, entitled Discarded Steps.

The judging panel comprised Nolan Lincoln, picture editor for Archant Norfolk, Ricky-Joe Burrage, a contemporary Norwich-based photographer who has worked on the Norwich 12 guidebook and Michael Loveday, chief executive of Norwich HEART.

They described Mr Denby's picture as “a daring photograph” which “captures the sinister drama of the iconic Castle and its past”.

The engineer and father-of-one said: “I have been doing this all my life so by now I should be getting quite good at it. I would love to be able to be a photographer for a living but it is very difficult to make any money from it, so I am pleased to have won because it is about getting your name known.

“I always work in monochrome because the images are more powerful and I work in a traditional way, doing everything myself. I think that just taking the photograph is only half the work.”

Jan Barsby, 65, from Carleton Rode near Bunwell, was highly commended for her photo featuring the cloisters at Norwich Cathedral, which judges said was “a well thought-out photograph” which “reflects the multifaceted nature of the Cathedral buildings and highlights both the scale and humanity of the buildings”.

She said: “I'm delighted, I haven't stopped screaming since I found out.”

Edward Hearn, 72, of Norwich, was also highly commended for his photograph which was taken in St John's Roman Catholic Cathedral. The judges said it was “a cleverly understated and contemplative photograph”.

Christina Lundberg, communications manager at Norwich HEART, said: “The standard of entries was very high and it was clear that a lot of thought had gone into them, with many creative and thought-provoking submissions. We hope the exhibition in March will act as a showcase for both the photographs and the buildings and be visited by many people.”

Winning and shortlisted entries will go on display in a public exhibition at The Forum from Monday, March 23, 2009, to Saturday, March 28, 2009, and will also be produced as postcards for public sale.

For more information on the Norwich 12, visit www.norwich12.co.uk.