EIGHT talented students were honoured for their submissions to a young photographer’s competition in Ilkley Town Hall Council Chambers on January 18.

The Rotary Club of Ilkley Wharfedale Young Photographer Competition attracted 18 high quality entries with personal and creative interpretations of the theme ‘The Beauty of Architecture’.

The potential interpretations varied immensely, from snowflakes to man-made structures, which the judges - Rotary Club Member Chris Short and Laura Mate, of Laura Mate Photography - found challenging to differentiate.

The winners in each of the three age groups are:

Group 1: Ages 5-10:

1st Eliza Browne (Ashlands Primary School) with her picture of a miniature church built by a gentleman for his grandchildren

2nd Olive Smith (Ashlands Primary School) Nature’s Abbey

3rd Layla-Rae Stancliffe (Burley Oaks Primary School) Paris through a peep-hole

Group 2: Ages 11-13:

1st Francis McCann (Ilkley Grammar School) with a moody black and white Cartier-Bresson-esque photograph of a staircase scene

2nd Rebecca Haestier (Ilkley Grammar School) Salts Mill Alley

3rd Arthur Wallace (Ilkley Grammar School) Stairs and stairs and stairs

Group 3: Ages 14-17:

1st Rory Bruce (Ilkley Grammar School) with a technically perfectly framed photograph of the Abbeyfield Care Home.

2nd Alfie Wilson (Ilkley Grammar School) Keep looking up

Prizes were awarded to the top three positions in each group with £30 for first, £20 for second and £10 for third.

First place in each group will now be submitted to the Yorkshire and Humber Rotary District competition, and should any photograph win in that competition, it will be entered into the national competition.

The local competition was organised by Ilkley Wharfedale Rotary Club‘s Youth Division under the leadership of Marilyn Ginns and with donations-in-kind from Tesco and Annings Photography.

The event at Ilkley Town Hall was attended by the winners, their parents, and school representatives. It was opened by Ilkley Mayor, Mark Stidworthy and closed by Wharfedale Rotary Club Joint President Jo Jarvis with Councillor Peter Mate.

Marilyn Ginns who chaired the event said: “We have been very pleased with the quality of the submissions and look forward to an even larger competition in 2023.”