An Aberystwyth 15-year-old has been crowned winner of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards with a striking image of a puffin.
The puffin looking over its shoulder amongst flowers on Skomer Island in west Wales won Anwen Whitehead the top prize for the competition.
Dubbed ‘Daydreaming in the Chamomiles’, the judges praised the emotion and composition of the image, remarking on how tough it is to photograph puffins, as well as noting her striking use of focus against a diffused background.
Anwen, from Cnwch Coch, received the award at a ceremony in the Tower of London on 19 December which celebrated the charity’s 200th anniversary.
She said on receiving the award: “It’s very surreal and amazing to have won.
“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!”
Anwen had only taken up photography as a serious hobby in 2023 but says she can now happily spend up to 10 hours a day in a bird hide or in a field under camouflage gear to capture the perfect shot.
She captured her award-winning image on a long-awaited trip to Pembrokeshire’s famous puffin island.
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 realise how special nature really is.
“I see wildlife photography as a tool for conservation by helping to spread the word.”
Her puffin photo also won the 12-15 category, whilst an image capturing a red ‘Sergeant Squirrel reporting for duty’ was also commended - seven of her images in total were shortlisted in the final, all of which are judged anonymously.
The animal charity challenges young photographers under 18 each year to capture the animal kingdom through a camera or phone, aiming to ‘inspire everyone to create a better world for every animal’.
Other prize winners included last year’s talented overall winner Jamie Smart, aged nine, from Powys, Mid Wales, who won the Pet Portraits category with an image of her cat titled ‘Not Impressed’.
Her image ‘Ready for Bed’ featuring 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.