This photographer snapped Tom and Jerry in real life – but the ominous scene looks nothing like the cartoons!

The winners of the LCE Photographer of the Year competition were announced live at The Photography & Video Show 2026, and one of the runners-up snapped a real-life scene of Tom and Jerry.

But unlike in the cartoons where clever Jerry always bests cunning Tom, Aaron Whiteaway's photo, which was a runner-up in the After Dark category of the LCE awards, depicts a more ominous scene.

The image, aptly entitled Tom & Jerry, shows a mouse trying to climb a step while in the background, a lurking cat has its gaze fixed on the mouse, ready to pounce.

I love this image, especially the way in which the perfect amount of depth of field has been used to tell the story.

At first glance, it’s not obvious that the out-of-focus object in the background is a lethal cat on the hunt. But a moment later, it becomes clear, as does the peril that the mouse faces, and I’m gripped by angst, knowing this is likely its last moments.

'Tom & Jerry' – Finalist in the After Dark category

Commenting on his image, Whiteaway said: “After a night out testing my latest 300mm lens, as I returned home, I stumbled upon a cat playing with its prey in the street.”

Whiteaway was shooting on a Nikon Z8 with a Nikon VR 300mm f/2.8G telephoto prime lens. He used 1/40sec shutter speed and a wide-open f/2.8 aperture, but still needed ISO 6,400 to ensure sufficient exposure.

“I managed to lay the lens down on the floor with its tripod foot for stability, angled the screen upwards on the camera and shot off a burst of shots,” said Whiteaway.

The other brilliant aspect of this image is that it leaves the ending up to the imagination. Whiteaway said: “I unfortunately never did find out how it all unfolded that night between the cat and mouse, but what a bittersweet moment it was to experience.”

While I’d like to imagine the mouse making a smart escape just like in the cartoons, something tells me the real-life scenario played out in a more deadly way.

The LCE POTY 2026 awards are now in their third year, and this year there was over $13,300 (£10,000 / AU$19,000) in prize money up for grabs. The 2026 overall winner was an amateur photographer whose ‘playful portrait’ beat over 14,500 entries.

See the whole lineup of finalist photos from the LCE POTY 2026 awards

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