Young Instagrammers are being challenged to post their favourite animal snaps this summer for the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2019.
The RSPCA’s new Instagram phto category will open to 13 to 18-year olds on Wednesday 24 July and closes on Monday 5 August 9am.
All you have to do is use #RSPCAYoungPhotographers and #YPALoveAnimals on each post to qualify for the competition and the entries will then be shortlisted before. Public vote to decide the RSPCA Insta winner from 12-16 August.
The winner of the RSPCA young Photographer Awards on Instagram 2019 will receive £10 Jessops vouchers, an exclusive ‘behind the scenes’ visit to an RSPCA centre, a trophy and an invitation to attend the Awards ceremony at the Tower of London on 18 December 2019.
RSPCA Young Photographer Awards organiser, Trish Varndall said: “This is the first-time young people aged 13 to 18 can use a social media app to enter their animal photos into a special category of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards.
“The school holidays are a perfect time to get snapping. So, whether it’s a photo of a pet, a farm animal or wildlife, we can’t wait to see the best pictures on people’s Instagram feeds.”
The new Instagram category is part of the prestigious annual RSPCA young Photographer Awards, which offer young people up to the age of 18 the chance to win amazing prizes – in return for getting snap happy with pets, wildlife and other animals.
The closing date for the main part of the awards is 16 August.
Whether the photo is taken on a mobile device or camera, there’s a category for every age, skill and type of equipment. Three different age-groups (under 12s, 12-15 and 16-18) also mean that all youngsters are in with a chance.
As well as this year’s new Instagram category, last year’s newly introduced categories – ‘Picture Perfect Pets’ and ‘Human Impact on Animals’ are back again, having proved so popular in 2018 and these are now open to mobile devices too.
In addition, a standalone category for participants in the RSPCA Generation Kind education programme has been introduced this year.
Chris Packham, long-standing judge for the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards, said: “Whether eight or eighteen years old, this is a fantastic opportunity for young people to get snapping and experience the environment around them.
“We want to see creative photos of people’s pets, farm animals or wildlife – and you won’t need expensive equipment to do that. Last year, we saw some stunning photos taken on mobile devices and we expect many more this time round. It’s imagination we’re after; we want to see pictures that demonstrate the photographer’s creativity and their engagement in the subject.
“This is such a brilliant competition as it really makes us stop, look at and think about the animals around us. Some of the photos we have seen in past year have captured really magical moments and I’m looking forward to seeing this year’s entries.”
Prizes will include camera equipment vouchers from sponsor Wex Photo Video, a photography break from sponsor Natures Images and Camtraptions, remote motion sensor technology.
The overall competition winner will be chosen by the judges from the winners of each category. In addition, a selection of photos entered in the Mobile Phone category will be put to the public vote in Feb/March 2020. The photo with the most votes wins the People’s Choice Award.
The closing date of the main part of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards is 12 noon on Friday 16 August 2019. Entrants can submit their images online at: www.rspca.org.uk/ypa.
