Guildford Teen Wins Prize in RSPCA Youth Photo Competition

Published on: 18 Dec, 2022
Updated on: 21 Dec, 2022

Hovering – Ben Hancock-Smith’s winning entry in the Small World category

Eighteen-year-old Ben Hancock-Smith, from Guildford, has won a category first prize in this year’s RSPCA Young Photographer Awards.

Ben’s image entitled ‘’Hovering” showing two small flies won the top spot in the ‘Small World’ category in the charity’s prestigious annual photography competition, after being singled out from more than 4,000 entries this year.

Every year, the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards invites youngsters aged 18 years and under to capture the animal kingdom on a camera or a mobile device.

Chris Packham

At the awards ceremony hosted by TV nature presenter and RSPCA vice president Chris Packham on Thursday, December 15) 2022 at the Tower of London, Ben said: “I’m so happy that the judges liked my photo so much.

“I had gone out in search of barn owls when I noticed something hovering near me. It was two small flies mating in mid-air. Quickly I switched over to my macro-lens to try and capture this and to my luck they were in reach of my lens plus the flies didn’t move too erratically which allowed me to get this shot of them airborne.”

Chris Packham, also one of the judges, said: “This year’s contest was difficult to judge as we received so many superb photographs.

“We have seen a fantastic array of animals featured across this year’s competition. Every year I am impressed by the level and skill in the photographs that are submitted. This year’s entries were magnificent – top work everyone!

“The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards is a real celebration of animals and the natural world and I love taking part every year. I hope everyone who entered continues with their love of animals and photography and they should all be proud of their achievements.”

For a full gallery of the winning images* for 2022 please visit: https://young.rspca.org.uk/ypa/home