St Mary's scoops multiple awards at Rotary Young Photographer Competition 2023

Congratulations to three of our talented art students who won several of this year's categories at the Rotary Young Photographer Competition 2023.

The Rotary Young Photographer Competition is a well-established and successful competition promoted by Rotary Great Britain and Ireland (Rotary GBI). It is a three-stage competition designed to support and encourage the development of photographic skills. The Cambridge Competition is organised by The Rotary Club of Cambridge in association with Cambridge Independent, the Cambridge Camera Club and Campkins Cameras.  The theme this year was ‘The Beauty of Architecture’. This competition aims to encourage young people to:  

• experiment with photography   

• use digital or traditional methods of photography   

• show interpretation of their chosen topic    

• express their ideas through the medium of photography    

The panel of judges consisted of representatives of the sponsors of the competition - the Cambridge Camera Club, Cambridge Independent and Campkins Cameras, together with representatives of the Rotary Club of Cambridge.  
  
The standard of entry this year was extremely high. However, they were unanimous in awarding Chloe F., an honourary photography scholar in our Sixth Form, overall winner in the senior Age Group for her image ‘The Heights of London’ and now her photograph will through to the East Anglia District competition. Freya G, was awarded a commendation for her image ‘Onwards and Upwards’ in the same category. Our Art Scholar Temperance K. was awarded a commendation in the Intermediate Age Group for her work ‘Thaxted Guildhall’. We are so proud of our students achievements and wish to congratulate them on their success. 

The results were published in the Cambridge Independent on Wednesday, 22 February, with a selection of the winning photos published the following week. The photographs are also posted on the Cambridge Camera Club website and on the Cambridge Rotary website.

Chloe F. said of her work:

I took this photograph in London, I like the way the sky was clear blue and the architecture look like it was reaching to pierce through this blue. I also like the juxtaposing of the modern architecture against the older more traditional Victorian buildings.  

Freya G. said of her work:

I chose to call this photo ‘Onwards and Upwards’ because of the height of the Aqueduct. This is a photo of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wrexham, Wales, and it is 38 metres tall. I chose to enter this image because of the striking contrast in size between the people and the architectural structure. 

Temperance K. said:

I called this photograph Thaxted Guildhall and it was taken one wintery weekend when the skies were clear and the lighting was good. I liked the historical significance of this the building and the role it plays in our community.