Chance of a lifetime for RSPCA competition winner

05/08/10

Great prizes in Young Photographer Awards 2010

An amazing three-day photography break with one of the world’s best wildlife photographers is up for grabs for the winner of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2010 (YPA).

Hundreds of entries have already poured in for one of the country’s most prestigious photography competitions for under 19s, but there is still time to put your snaps in the frame to win some amazing prizes. YPA is offering up its best prize haul to date, with £1,000 worth of Olympus camera kit as well as the photography break courtesy of Natures Images. Wildlife Photographer of the Year category winner Danny Green, who runs Natures Images along with Mark Sisson, will join the overall winner and pass on some of his expertise during the annual deer rut in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire.

As if all this wasn’t enough, the YPA category winners will pick up some fantastic new cameras at the final of this year’s awards, sponsored by Olympus and Warners Midlands, at HM Tower Of London, in December.

The closing date for YPA entries is Monday, 6 September, so budding snappers still have plenty of time to get out and about to capture some prize winning animal antics on camera.

Entries will be shortlisted by the judging panel, including BBC Countryfile and One Show presenter Matt Baker. He said: “I can’t wait to see the great entries that have been submitted for this year’s competition. It has been a fantastic summer to be out and about so I am looking forward to seeing lots of sunny and happy pictures of pets and wildlife and meeting the winners at the awards ceremony in December.”

The winners of the under 12s and 12-18s categories will get to enjoy an exclusive photoshoot at an RSPCA centre with our very own award winning photographer Andrew Forsyth, as well as a top Olympus camera. Last year’s overall winner, Ryan Edwards, of Woodbridge, Suffolk, joined Andrew at the RSPCA’s East Winch wildlife centre (pictured above left) to photograph the release of rehabilitated seals back into their natural habitat.

As well as picking up some top tips from Andrew, Ryan was able to put them into practice and get plenty of his own stunning images (pictured right) from a memorable day out with the RSPCA team.

YPA has become a recognised launch pad for aspiring photographers to showcase their work, gain recognition from industry professionals and be rewarded for the talent they have developed. It has now gained a reputation as prestigious as many leading adult photography competitions.

Categories also include the Olympus portfolio prize, where photographers get to showcase several images on a consistent theme, and the pet personalities section which is the perfect chance to frame your furry friends.

A full run down of prizes and rules are available at www.rspca.org.uk/ypa where you can also upload your photos for entry into this year’s competition.

A short film from last year’s awards ceremony at HM Tower of London is now available to watch on the latest news page of the YPA website at http://ypa.rspca.org.uk/latest_news. Maybe this year it could be you picking up a winner’s prize from Matt Baker.