Deer me, what a photo! Pewsey teenager wins top prize at RSPCA competition
He beat a record 11,000 entries this year
Last updated 22nd Dec 2020
17 year old Jake Kneale has won a hattrick of awards at the RSPCA Young Photographer competition.
The teenager from Pewsey won the 'Small Worlds' category with his photo 'Mind Your Head', which sees a deer ducking underneath some branches while going through a gate.
The judges deemed the picture, taken during lockdown, as the overall winner of the competition as well.
Meanwhile, Jake was also given first prize in the competitions Portfolio category for his series of striking swan images.
He was singled out from 11,000 entries of young people aged up to 18, who had captured the animal kingdom on camera or on a mobile device.
Jake said:
"I’m so happy that the judges liked my photos so much.
To get the deer image, during lockdown I set up a camera trap on an area of farm land close to my home with the hope of photographing wildlife passing through the gate. I was delighted when I captured this roe deer buck passing through, seeming to duck its head to pass underneath an overhanging bush. I like how this image conveys the idea of wildlife having areas more to themselves during lockdown."
The awards were blind-judged by a panel of experts including TV presenter and RSPCA Vice Presidents Chris Packham.
He said:
"Jake’s photo of a deer really stood out to all of us on the judging panel. We felt it was a powerful and poignant representation of how wild animals started to claim back their land and habitats during the lockdown'. The quality of entries this year as the competition celebrates its 30th anniversary has been astounding. We felt that the lockdown ironically worked in all the young photographers favour; they really did enter fantastic pictures.
I’ve been judging the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards since they started. It’s exciting to have seen it move with the times, with new options regularly being introduced. This year we introduced a new category called Small World. We didn’t want our young photographers to feel limited by lockdown, so we devised this to inspire them to record what was close to home. We needn’t have worried though, as lockdown saw our entrants’ creativity and imagination soar.
The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards is a true celebration of the animal kingdom and one I feel honoured to be involved with. Every person shortlisted should be proud of their contribution to a world that’s kinder to all animals."