The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has announcedthe launch of this year’s RSPCA Young Photographer Awards. The aim of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards (YPA) is to encourage young people’s interest in photography and show their appreciation and understanding of the animals around them. There are two age categories, a Pet personalities category plus the so-called Olympus portfolio category. There are a number of prizes up for grabs in YPA 09, including £1000 worth of Olympus vouchers, Olympus digital cameras, an exclusive RSPCA photoshoot and the chance to attend an invite-only awards ceremony where all shortlisted entries will be on display. The deadline for entries is midnight on 7 September for those submitted via www.rspca.org.uk/ypa or 5pm on 24 August for postal entries.

RSPCA Press Release

Snap Up £1,000 Worth Of Olympus Camera Kit With RSPCA Young Photographer Awards

The RSPCA’s prestigious Young Photographer Awards (YPA) have returned for 2009 – this time bigger and better than ever.

Top Olympus cameras are up for grabs for the category winners, and the overall winner will take home a fantastic £1,000 worth of Olympus vouchers and opportunity to go on an exclusive photo shoot at a unique RSPCA location.

This year’s competition, sponsored by Olympus and Warners Midlands, will climax with an exclusive awards ceremony hosted by ex-Blue Peter and new Countryfile presenter Matt Baker in the spectacular surroundings of HM Tower of London.

It is the second year that Matt will announce the winners, but his first on the judging panel. He said he is keen to cast his eye over entries after being impressed by the calibre of images from last year’s competition.

Joining Matt on the judging panel for the first time is a new face to YPA09 - award winning wildlife photographer Danny Green. Danny knows exactly what it takes to capture the perfect shot after scooping numerous accolades for his incredible images. In 2007 he was crowned International Wild Bird Photographer Of The Year.

“It is a great honour to be asked to be a judge for YPA09. It is a great way to encourage photography with young people and I’m really looking forward to what the next generation of photographers have to offer,” said Danny.

YPA has become a renowned annual showcase event for young photographers to show off their skills. The standard of entries is expected to be as high as ever this year in categories including under 12 years, 12 to 18 years, pet personalities and the Olympus portfolio prize.

The prizes on offer are also better than ever before, with the overall winner taking home £1,000 of vouchers to spend on Olympus equipment, in addition to whichever camera they will have won along with their category title.

The Olympus portfolio prize category gives photographers the chance to dazzle the judges with a collection of five images that work well together. The winner will be presented with an Olympus E-450 SLR camera with a bundle of extras. Due to the high standard of entries received in this category, this year the RSPCA will also be awarding one runner up an E-450 camera.

The winner of the pet personalities category – which challenges photographers to capture their pet’s unique character – will receive on Olympus SP-590 Ultra Zoom camera.
The winner of the under 12s category will receive an Olympus E-450 SLR camera, while four runners up will each receive an Olympus Tough 6000 ‘go anywhere’ camera. In the 12-18s category the top prize is an Olympus E-620 D-SLR camera with two zoom lenses and four runners up prizes of Olympus Tough 8000 cameras.

The deadline for entries is midnight on 7 September for those submitted via www.rspca.org.uk/ypa or 5pm on 24 August for postal entries. Information and postal entry forms are also available from the website, by emailing [email protected] or writing to YPA/RSPCA Publications, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, West Sussex, RH13 9RS.

Photo copyright Zoltan Arva-Toth | Not affiliated with RSPCA | Used here for illustration purposes only

Your Comments