Budding young photographers challenged to ‘snap’ up £1,000 prize for school

A national competition has been launched offering the snap-happy students of the UK the chance to win £1,000 worth of equipment for their school.

Cartridge Save is challenging children aged four-11 nationwide to print off and send in a photo of something that matters to them. Alongside each entry they must explain, in less than 100 words, why the person, event, place or object depicted is so important to them.

A panel of judges will award the photographer of the best entry £1,000 for their school to spend on print or photographic equipment. Two runners up will receive £500 for their school and all three placed entrants will win themselves a camera worth £100.

In addition the top 50 entries from across the UK will be showcased in a free-to-download-and-print photo album. This album will become a testament to the things that mattered to children in 2016, that can be printed and physically handed down to their children’s children.

The competition will be judged by Stuart Nicol, former Head of Pictures for The Daily Telegraph and Group Picture Editor of The Press Association. As a photographer Stuart covered major news events all over the world including the invasion of Lebanon by Israeli forces, famine in Ethiopia and Southern Sudan and the protests in Tiananmen Square. Closer to home he covered multiple royal weddings, the miners' strike, and the conflict in Northern Ireland. More recently he worked as a photo manager at the 2012 London Olympics.

He will be joined by Dr Sandi Mann, a behavioural psychologist from the University of Central Lancashire who specialises in the analysis of things that matter to people.

Children can access hints and tips from Mr Nicol and Dr Mann on what makes a good photo and how best to explain why it matters, plus full details of how to enter at:

www.cartridgesave.co.uk/printwhatmatters/news

Mr Nicol is excited about seeing the emerging talent of Britain’s youngest photographer. He said: “The most amazing thing about photography, is that it allows you to steal a moment in time, a moment never to be repeated.

“A printed photograph has immense power. It allows you hold onto that memory, that moment, forever.

“The best photos are not the ones with the perfect lighting or most expensive print but the ones that capture the emotion of the moment. I am so excited to seeing what the UK’s youngest photographers will deliver.”

Dr Mann believes that this competition will encourage students to build a very special testimony to their lives. She added: “Our relentless march into the digital space means we are no longer printing photos and we are in danger of losing the connection to our past. It’s important that our future generation takes steps now to stop and print the photos that matter to them so that they always have physical reminders of the memories that document their lives.”

Ian Cowley, Managing Director of Cartridge Save added: “We’ll never be able to 100 per cent rely on technology so printing is the only way to guarantee that an image won’t be lost.

“By running this competition we want to celebrate the power of printing and the fact it provides us with a physical testimony of that one memory we never want to forget.”

Useful information: 

• The competition has three categories: four to six, seven to nine and 10 - 11.
• There will be one overall winner across all categories. The winning school will receive £1,000 to spend on print or photographic equipment/materials and the winning child will receive a camera worth £100.
• Two runners up in the remaining categories will each win £500 for their school to spend on print or photographic equipment/material, as well as receive a camera worth £100.
• The best 50 entries from across the categories will be selected to appear in the e-album.
• Photos and their accompanying descriptions (less than 100 words) must be entered by a caregiver, parent or teacher, who can give permission for the entry and entrant’s name to be included in the book.
• The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Closing date for entries is 6 May 2016.