STERLING Mills Shopping Village have focussed in on Forth Valley College’s photographic talent by offering students exhibition space to showcase their work.

As part of an ongoing partnership with the college’s HND Photography course, Sterling Mills has proudly turned the windows of a vacant shop unit into a gallery to present several stunning pictures taken by the students.

Working to the theme of Love Local, the images were all captured in the surrounding Hillfoots and Forth Valley area, showcasing both the students’ talent and the beauty of the environment.

The exhibition, which boasts 10 photographs from seven student photographers, will run for six weeks until Thursday, March 10 and shoppers are encouraged to stop to view the images.

Ashley Bisland, centre manager at Sterling Mills Outlet Shopping Village, said: “Sterling Mills are delighted to be working in partnership with Forth Valley College. Our window gallery Love Local showcases the talent of the photography students.

“We are proud to help develop local talent, and are delighted that the images are on display at Sterling Mills. It’s created a great focal point for our visitors.”

Students Jade Scott from Fishcross, Emma Allison from Brightons, Falkirk, Edgaras Borotinskas from Bo’ness, Andrew Sherriff from Bainsford Falkirk, Lindsay Forsyth from Dunfermline, John Cusick from Falkirk and Fiona Read from Sauchie, were all at Sterling Mills on Thursday, February 4 for an informal launch of their exhibition.

Steph Toms, acting head of FVC’s Creative Industries Department based at the Stirling Campus, said: "We can’t thank Sterling Mills enough for allowing our students to exhibit their work. It is the perfect location for the exhibition as many of the pictures were taken in the surrounding area and it is an easy place for art lovers from across Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire and beyond to visit and savour these tremendous photos.

"Our photography students are building up an excellent reputation for producing quality work and more and more people in the creative industries sector are talking about the HND Photography course at Forth Valley College. However it is not surprising to our lecturers who see the high standards of their work on a day to day basis.

“This exhibition gives the general public a chance to have a look at what the next generation of professional photographers are able to produce and the results are fantastic. We certainly hope to build on this relationship we are developing with Sterling Mills to see if this can be a regular exhibition in the years to come. We also hope the exhibition will inspire more budding photographers to consider applying to our HND Photography course.”