Devon teen wins RSPCA photo award
A 13-year-old from Devon has won the Pet Personalities category of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2024 with his black and white image of his cat Blue.
Austin Lake, 13, from Paignton in Devon, secured the top spot in the Pet Personalities category with his image entitled ‘A Perch With a View’ which features his nine-year-old cat Blue sunbathing and watching birds.
Austin, who only started taking photos 18 months ago when people told him he had an eye for it, won the award at the awards ceremony at the Tower of London held today (Thursday 19 December). 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.
Austin said: “It’s unbelievable! I’m so excited to have won and the fact that the awards are in the Tower of London is mindblowing.
“My favourite subject to photograph is my cat, Blue. He loves to perch on the bannister at the top of the stairs and stare out at the back garden. It’s the perfect sunbathing spot where he can watch the birds. I love this photo as his body looks relaxed but you can see his eyes are following something in typical cat style. He is such a gorgeous and magnificent boy so wherever he lies or sits, he is so photogenic to me. We have had Blue since he was 10 weeks old and he’s now nine and a half! I can’t really remember a time before he was part of the family.”
The 13-year-old added: “I think everything looks better through a lens and I love the self expression photography gives me.”
Sponsors of the competition are Natures Images (wildlife photography holidays) and Camtraptions (camera traps for wildlife photography).
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.
Anwen Whitehead, 15, also from Mid Wales, was the overall winner this year with her image of a Puffin entitled ‘Daydreaming in the chamomiles’.
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.
The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2025 opens for entries on 6 May. For more information visit: rspca.org.uk/ypa for all the latest news, galleries and photo tips.
Email: ypa25@rspca.org.uk to join the mailing list and be the first to know when the competition opens.
To watch a recording of the ceremony visit: https://young.rspca.org.uk/home
The full gallery of all the winning images can be viewed here.
