A six-year-old girl from Milton Keynes has come first place in MK Gallery’s Young Photographer’s competition 2022 for her photo of a robin sat on a railway sleeper. The budding photographer beat more than 130 other people to the top prize including several people who were more than twice her age.
As part of her prize, Pippa and her classmates will be able to take part in an artists' workshop at MK Gallery as well as have a guided tour of all current exhibitions including MK Vivian Maier: Anthology – a collection of over 140 black and white photos from this mysterious photographer who became famous almost overnight.
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Young Photographer 2022 is designed to inspire up-and-coming photographers from an early age to take up the hobby and enter competitions. It’s open to any young person living or studying in Milton Keynes and is judged by a panel of curators and photographers. Images could be entered into one of the following four categories: landscapes, portraits, street or anything goes.
Throughout May, a series of workshops took place with the hope of inspiring these young photographers to discover a different side to photography. They explored techniques such as cyanotype, pinhole cameras, experimenting with digital photography and using different materials.
A winner from each age category was chosen but Pippa’s image came first overall and her age makes the shot even more impressive. The head of public programs for children and young people at MK gallery said, “Young Photographer has been exceedingly popular this year. We’ve been overwhelmed not only by the number of entries but the standard of them.
"We held several photography workshops from April to July to support young people who were curious about photography and wanted to enter the competition. And, with a bit of family, and or school support, the entrants produced some fantastic images.”
As well as winning a guided tour of MK Gallery for herself and her classmates, Pippa and her family were also invited along with the other shortlisted photographers to an awards ceremony and special screening at the Sky Room in MK Gallery. While Pippa might be young, it goes to show how little age means - all you need is a good eye and the confidence to submit an image and who knows, perhaps you could win a photo competition too.
