By Elizabeth Hunter
A teenage girl’s striking photo of a puffin has won the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards.
Anwen Whitehead, 15, Cnwch Coch in Aberystwyth, has won with her shot of a puffin resting in wildflowers on Skomer Island.
Judges praised the emotion and composition of her photo – which she titled “Daydreaming in the Chamomiles,” at today’s ceremony at the Tower of London.
They complimented the picture’s diffused background, and noted the skill required to capture a photo of a puffin – while Anwen described the victory as “surreal.”
“It’s very surreal and amazing to have won,” she said. “I think this will really encourage me to keep going and push to make this a career.
“I was amazed at being shortlisted as a finalist so to win makes me determined to keep going and keep improving. I’ve won a few local competitions but nothing on this scale!”
Having only started taking photographs as a serious hobby last year, Anwen explained that the puffin photo which was snapped on a long-anticipated visit to Pembrokeshire’s famous Skomer Island was one of her favorite photographs.
Anwen explained that she can quite happily spend 10 hours in a bird hide, or out in a field in camouflage gear at sunrise to get the perfect photo.
She said: “That’s my happy place. It’s very relaxing to be out in nature and away from screens. It allows me to slow down a little bit.
”It can take a long time but it’s always worth it in the end and the buzz afterwards lasts all day or all week!
“I’ve always had a love of animals. We live in rural Wales so I’m surrounded by animals and nature.
”I think it’s really important to try and help protect nature through photography by showing both the magic and the fragility of nature to help make people realize how special nature really is.
“I see wildlife photography as a tool for conservation by helping to spread the word.”
The competition invites young people aged 18 and under to submit their best animal snaps taken from their cameras or mobile phones – and remarkably, a number of photos submitted by Anwen were recognized this year.
As well as being the overall winner, Anwen’s puffin photo also won the 12-15 category; while her red squirrel image ‘Sergeant Squirrel reporting for duty’ was commended in the same category.
Another red squirrel image ‘Peckish’ was commended in the 12-15 mobile category and her swallows image placed runner-up in the City Life section.
Finally, her ‘Puffin Paradise’ collection came runner-up in the Portfolio category meaning Anwen had a whopping seven images shortlisted in the final.
All entries are judged entirely anonymously, and separately from one another, which makes Anwen’s multiple successes this year even more staggering.
To mark the charity’s 200th birthday, the RSPCA added two new categories – ‘Better World’ which imagines what a better world for animals looks like, and ‘City Life’ – which highlights animals in our everyday lives.
Chris Packham, TV presenter, RSPCA President and supporter of the awards since its inception over 30 years ago, said: “As ever, this is a wonderful portfolio of work. This competition always attracts very strong entries and my special congratulations goes to all the winners and of course, especially, to the overall winner.”
Chris, who couldn’t attend the ceremony in person but recorded a special video message for the winners, added: “Photography is a great way of communicating your love for, your passion for, your fascination for, and your concern for animals.
“I think it’s really important that we use that as a tool at this particular time when a lot of animals are in trouble. Being able to use your imagination, creativity and ingenuity to come up with something personally unique and powerful is a very important tool.”
The judging panel included wildlife photographers Rachel Bigsby, Catriona Parfitt, Ellie Rothnie, RSPCA photographers Andrew Forsyth and Emma Jacobs, and CBBC’s “Dready Vet” Fabian Rivers.
Fabian said: “It’s a great honor to be involved in the inspiring RSPCA Young Photographer Awards this year. The caliber of entries has been staggering.
“Anwen’s puffin image is technically great, it’s sharp and evokes such lovely emotions. There’s a real story behind it and it was a clear winner for me.”
Other prize winners included last year’s talented overall winner Jamie Smart, aged nine, from Powys, Mid Wales, who won Pet Portraits with an image of her cat titled ‘Not Impressed’, and ‘Ready for Bed’ which features an owl won the Better World category, followed by her kingfisher image ‘City Fisher’ which won City Life.
She also secured the top spot in the Under 12s category with ‘Rise of the Gannet’, and placed runner-up or commended with a further four images.
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