Reuben Awarded First Prize in the Cotswold Wildlife Park Photography Competition

Many congratulations to Reuben Eves (Year 10), whose photograph of a Crocodile Monitor Lizard has earned him the overall winner of the 16yrs and under category of a 2018 photography competition organised by the Cotswold Wildlife Park.

The judges of the competition, which attracted over 1,000 entries, were impressed by the detail captured in Reuben's image.  "We've never seen such a detailed photo of this species entered in the competition before," said Debbie Ryan from the wildlife park.

Commenting on his image, entitled 'The Ancient One' which was taken whilst the lizard lay under its heat lamp, Reuben says:  "The Monitor was lying under its heat lamp that shone down on it like a spotlight.  The backdrop was dark whereas the foreground was bright, which I liked.  However, on its own, it was not enought to create the contrast and shadowy effect that creates that pitch-black background in the image.  I decided to amplify the effect of the heat lamp by setting up my camera specifically for the picture.  This allowed me to get the Monitor's scales in detail, while drawing the viewer's eye to the creature, as there was no backdrop."

The annual school Photography Competition and exhibition will be launched shortly.  This year's competition theme is 'A Sense of Pride'.  Deadlines for entry are December 7th and the exhibition will take place next term on 7th February.