The winner of a photographic competition for school children across the region, visited RSPB Bempton Cliffs near Bridlington to receive her prize.
Cordelia Singleton, from Hornsea, took first place in the 7-11 years category of the East Riding Schools Photography Competition which encouraged youngsters to get creative and snap a photo of animals in a natural setting, be it the back garden or the open countryside. Her reward was a masterclass in photographing seabirds with award-winning photographer, Steve Race.
She was joined on the cliff tops by classmates from Hornsea Primary School who had also entered the competition which had the theme, The Nature of Animals. All 600 of the schools’ pupils took part photographing a whole range of creatures from squirrels to sheep – and even a frog skeleton.
Cordelia’s winning image is of a jackdaw taken at the RSPB’s popular nature reserve at Bempton Cliffs. The outstanding quality of the shot impressed the judges so much that they initially thought it had been downloaded from the internet and wasn’t an original piece.
But it was very much all Cordelia’s own work. With her Canon camera around her neck, she likes nothing more than being out and about capturing the beauty of nature. Along with her Mum, she visits Sewerby Hall in Bridlington most weekends and enjoys photographing the animals there – particularly the deer.
During the session on the cliff tops, Steve Race, who received a commendation in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in 2013, got the group to focus their cameras and ipads on the gannets at the heart of the colony around Staple Newk:
‘The wind direction meant that the gannets were in great positions to be photographed. At times they were just hanging in the air so the youngsters were able to take shots from really interesting angles The photos were fantastic and Cordelia and her friends were super-enthusiastic - and more than a bit clever with a camera.’
The ‘Nature of Animals’ competition is part of the council’s ‘No Limits: Adventures Beyond the Classroom’ learning programme, one outcome of the council’s contribution as a Principal Partner of Hull UK City of Culture 2017. It coincided with and was inspired by the Natural History Museum’s National Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at The Treasure House, Beverley.