THE spirit and energy of carnival time in Brazil has been captured by a Bolton photography student who travelled the world in search of the perfect picture.

He experienced the contrasting surroundings of party time in the heat of South American and life in a city in the Arctic Circle.

Scott Hodgson organised the globe-trotting trips which included a stay during the Recife Carnival in Brazil as part of his final year of studies at Bolton Institute.

He joined in the carnival fun and also had a chance to visit remote parts of the country where locals were surprised to encounter tourists. In complete contrast the 23-year-old also spent three weeks in Murmansk, which is the largest city in the Arctic Circle, despite not speaking a word of Russian. Scott, who served in the Armed Forces for six months before starting his degree in photography and video, was fascinated by the port's naval history and its fleet of redundant nuclear submarines.

Despite the austerity of the city, Scott was amazed by the friendliness of the majority of people who tried to help him even though there was a language barrier.

He said: "It seemed such an incredibly depressing place and often quite bizarre, but the people were so keen for me to show the good side of the city."

Scott, who has moved back to his home town of Normanton near Leeds, was bitten by the travel bug throughout his three years at Bolton Institute and also took part in photography assignments to Egypt and Israel.