SPRINTING squirrels, joyous students and fiery mixology were just some of the stunning snaps we received this week for our 'motion' theme.

Animals often feature in submissions but there were also some truly exceptional creature captures this week.

With limited space, we could only include one of Ian Jones’ trio of squirrel shots which show the animal running along a country path, with one looking as if it is actually levitating.

Oxford Mail:

In the photograph we chose, we love how the animal’s back legs are in the air, front paws on the ground as it pushes off. It perfectly captures the theme.

Another animal snap we enjoyed was of a pair of hares boxing by Duncan Becker, the energy in the photograph seen in the blurred leg of one caught mid-leap.

SEE AGAIN: Camera Club look at all the angles

There were also plenty of birds caught in flight with Graham Cherry's beautifully detailed snap and the more frantic image of a blackbird diving for a piece of bread by Michael Turner two that particularly stood out.

Many members used long exposure techniques to convey a sense of motion.

Oxford Mail:

Some of our favourites included Sue Carruthers shot of a woman standing still as a bus passes, the latter a blur of light, and Oxford’s Alfred Street captured by Benjamin Waller as traffic passes.

Io Nutz, meanwhile, took the opposite approach featuring a cyclist as the in-focus subject of a blurred street scene. Rather than observing something else in motion is allows you to feel part of the action.

Allen Dannfald and his daughter Jennifer set about capturing water drops in motion, and it was trickier than the pair first thought.

Sharing the fruits of their efforts on the Camera Club Facebook, Mr Dannfald wrote: "We just used a medicine syringe to make the droplets and she wanted to add some sparkly paint to colour the water a little."

He added: "Five okay photos form 150 attempts."

Oxford Mail:

Finally we love Piers Burnell's image of the illusion of motion. A pair horse statues look as if they are galloping through a mist-filled field despite being stationary.

Next week’s theme is the colour blue.

Join our Camera Club – which now has almost 1,000 members – by visiting facebook.com and searching for Oxford Mail Camera Club.

This week’s winner will be announced in tomorrow’s paper.

Happy snapping!