A surrey teenager has won the RSPCA’s Young Photographer Award ‘Instagram Photo Category’ voted by members of the public.
Elizabeth Lee, 13 from New Malden, entered the RSPCA photo competition with a picture of her dog, Lucky, surrounded by a field of beautiful purple heather, which was snapped at the Devil’s Punchbowl in Surrey.
The teenager won despite fierce competition from the other four shortlisted images, meaning Elizabeth will now receive a £100 Amazon voucher and a trophy.
She said: “A few friends of mine sent me the RSPCA’s Young Photographer competition post from Instagram saying I should enter because they really like my photography, so I said I would! I love experimenting with photos and having a go at anything new. I’m so shocked that I’ve won because I saw all the other photos and they were amazing but I’m absolutely over the moon that I did and can’t wait to tell all my friends.”
The photo was taken on a Fujifilm x30 camera at about 7.30pm in the evening when the light was perfect, Elizabeth explained.
She added: “Lucky is my dog and my best friend in the world. He follows me everywhere and will always happily pose for the camera. I love so many things about this photo, the beautiful colours, the gorgeous heather but most of all Lucky’s smile which is permanently on his face when we are out on our walks.”
David Allen, Head of Prevention and Education at the RSPCA, said: “Elizabeth’s photo of Lucky is wonderful, and it really shows the joys our pets bring us. We are passionate about inspiring young people to help us build a kinder world for animals and our photography competition is a chance to really celebrate that. Congratulations to Elizabeth and all the other runners up, whose pictures really showcased their talent and passion for animals.”
The RSPCA’s Instagram photo category was open to 13–18 year olds and attracted a record-breaking 1,060 entries this year – three times as many as 2019.
Entrants used #RSPCAYoungPhotographers and #YPALoveAnimals on each post to qualify for the competition and the entries were then shortlisted before the current public vote decided the RSPCA Insta winner.
The Instagram category is part of the prestigious annual RSPCA Young Photographer Awards, which has also broken records this year with more than 10,000 entries.
The competition which is now in its 30th year offers young people up to the age of 18 the chance to win amazing prizes – in return for getting snap happy with pets, wildlife and other animals.
The finalists for the main competition will be notified in October and winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday 17 December, hosted by RSPCA ambassador, TV presenter and wildlife lover Chris Packham.
For more information visit: https://young.rspca.org.uk/ypa/home
