Bucks teen wins RSPCA award

A teenager from Aylesbury has won the 16-18 category of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2024 with his festive photo of a robin.

Anton Poon,17,secured the top spot in the 16-18 category with his image entitled 'Autumn Daydream' which shows a close-up of a robin with striking autumnal colours. Anton's photo of a native Hong Long bird was also commended in the City Life category.

The prestigious RSPCA Young Photographer Awards invites young people aged 18 years and under to capture the animal kingdom on a camera or a mobile device and supports the RSPCA's mission to inspire everyone to create a better world for every animal. The awards were announced at a ceremony held at the Tower of London today (Thursday 19 December 2024).

The image was described as the best picture of a robin in YPA history. 

Anton said: "This is the biggest competition I have been shortlisted for, nevermind winning, and my first award ceremony, so it is a very new experience, which I am very honoured to be a part of.

"Birds have been a passion of mine since I started doing photography. I find them so fascinating and often quite a challenge to photograph, which adds to the satisfaction of getting an image. I also find that with birds, that they can fly off and especially with smaller birds, they are quick and agile, which makes the experience much more fast paced than with other animals, which excites me."

Anton explained that he started taking photographs at school around three years ago but it was only a couple of years ago that it became a more serious hobby.

He said: "At first I took photos of everything to get better with my camera, but it wasn't until I began taking photos of birds and other wildlife that I found something that truly interested me and made me actually want to get out and take photos. Photography interests me because while you don't always find something when you go out, sometimes you can be out in the same place for hours, and sometimes you spend hours combing through images and editing, but the moment that you get something and you create what you envision makes it all worth it in the end."

Capturing 'Autumn Daydream' was the longest he'd spent with a single subject, managing to capture the robin for well over an hour.

He added: "I was walking my usual route after school when I saw a little robin, who settled among some bushes. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, the area was basked in a warm light, and the robin was backlit. I got the beautiful autumn colours of distant trees in the background and leaves in the foreground, which provides some contrast and depth. In the end I feel I captured the whole experience in a single image, the Autumn day and the robin seeming to have a great time in nature, as I was as well."

This year's awards were judged by a panel of photography experts, including wildlife photographer Rachel Bigsby; former competition winner-turned-professional photographer Catriona Parfitt; professional wildlife photographer and photographic guide Ellie Rothnie; and RSPCA photographers Andrew Forsyth and Emma Jacobs. And for the first time this year - Fabian Rivers, also known as Dready Vet, who's an exotic animal and wildlife vet and RSPCA ambassador and appears on CBBC's The Pets Factor.

Winners in each category were awarded trophies and a selection of prizes at the Tower of London ceremony and as the Overall Winner, Anwen Whitehead received a weekend photography break with Natures Images. This fabulous prize includes two nights' accommodation for the winner and a parent/guardian.