Local Heroes is an exhibition of photographs of the sportsmen and women of Hampshire which is being held at The Harbour Lights Picture House, until the end of January

It's the idea of photographer, Martine Allee, who says it is intended as a tribute to all those who qualified to represent Great Britain in the Olympics and Paralympics in individual sports.

"I have always been interested in sport, and I feel that the media in the UK - especially at a national level - focuses too much on certain kinds of sport, hardly mentioning others such as athletics, basketball and fencing," says Martine.

"Although local newspapers have more complete coverage, I wanted to find out how many people in the county had qualified for the Great Britain squad in the Olympics and Paralympics," she says.

"I was surprised to discover that it was as many as 28."

During the course of a year, Martine photographed 21 of them (a few were just too busy preparing for the games, but have promised to pose in the future). She met swimmers, runners, sailors, fencers, synchronised swimmers, gymnasts and cyclists and says it was a privilege.

"Meeting so many people who are so focused and enthusiastic, who excel at what they do, was inspiring," says Martine.

"Talent, will, courage, determination, ambition, patience, imagination and endurance, are qualities they all share in their pursuit of the ultimate goal: The Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"Years of training for a brief moment of perfection. It is almost absurd. It is also extraordinarily beautiful, emotional and inspirational."

Martine chose to photograph the athletes away from their usual training or competitive environment, but still dressed in their sports kits.

For example, a swimmer wears her goggles and swimsuit but she is pictured standing in the middle of a field.

Martine says the reasons for taking them out of context were partly practical - she is not a sport's photographer so doesn't have the necessary equipment to shoot them in action, but it's also because she likes to use different techniques.

"One of the things I do is I try to combine images. Some have three photos together, like a sequence. This is called a triptic image," explains Martine.

The result is a collection of stunning portraits which make a strong impact.

In addition, underneath each photograph Martine has placed an explanation of the sport and a quote from the person photographed.

Local Heroes has already been displayed at the Museum of Portsmouth and Martine has been approached by major photographic company Olympus with a view to exhibiting at their head offices in Germany.

* For further information contact Harbour Lights on 023 8023 4234 or Martine Allee on 023 9273 0700.