Scotland's first annual international festival of photography is to launch its second year in Edinburgh.

Retina will run in the city from July 10 to 30 with the focus on images from Italy, Norway and Poland as well as Scotland and England.

There will be a show in the Scottish Parliament for the first time and an outdoor exhibition on The Mound.

Among the photographers being shown is Tim Flach, a commercial and fine art photographer who also produces arresting images of animals.

At Gayfield Square the award-winning commercial photographer Hamish Brown is to exhibit a series of portraits of film, music and sports stars.

Brown has shot a wide range of artists from Gary Oldman, Nicole Kidman, Iggy Pop to Sir Elton John and Take That.

Key figures in world politics photographed during the 1950s and 1960s are brought together at the Scottish Parliament in Michael Peto Photographs.

Michael Peto's (1908-1970) career will be the focus of an exhibition featuring portraits of Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, The Dalai Lama, Jawaharlal Nehru, Nikita Khrushchev, and Tony Benn.

Roddy McRae, chairman of the festival, said: "It is brilliant to be back for a second year celebrating the world's best photography across Edinburgh.

"Our intention at Retina is to bring Scottish and International exhibitors together to celebrate the best in photography and in turn to inspire the next generation and support emerging talent.

"We are only able to sail into our second year with such an incredible programme due to the support of our sponsors and volunteers and their vision and awareness of how this event can forward the dialogue about photography in Scotland."

David Watt, chief executive of Arts & Business Scotland added: "We are delighted to support the Retina International Festival with match funding through the New Arts Sponsorship Grants scheme. It is fantastic to see the festival securing business sponsorship to help it grow as it embarks on its second year in Edinburgh and we wish the organisers every success."

The official festival opening will be held Creative Spaces, Gayfield Square on July 10.