Food Photography: Girl And Grandfather Reach Award Finals

Family photo A man with grey hair and beard smiling at the camera, next to him is a smiling ten-year-old girl with long dark hair — Photographer Harry, 77, and his 10-year-old granddaughter Hollie are both finalists in a global photographer competition

A 10-year-old girl and her grandfather, 77, have both made it to the finals of a global food photography competition.

Hollie, from Caerphilly and Harry – a professional photographer for more than 50 years – have been taking pictures together every Sunday for the past two years.

“It gives me immense pleasure in nourishing her interest in photography, as she seems to be very creative and a very quick learner,” said Harry.

The pair are finalists in two different categories of the World Food Photography Awards sponsored by Tenderstem, a global competition regarded as the “Oscars of food photography” which this year received nearly 10,000 entries from 70 countries.

“It’s absolutely brilliant. I’ve been doing this for a long time. Hollie started at the same age as I did, nine years of age, and to see her reaching this level now is very gratifying,” Harry told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

“When she discovered she was shortlisted, and then later a finalist, I think it’s fair to say she was bouncing around like a tennis ball… it’ll be an experience she’ll remember for the rest of her life and hopefully start her on a lifelong journey.”

Hollie has been practicing photography with her grandad, Harry, for the past two years

Family photo A girl with long brown tied-back hair, wearing a light blue hoodie and looking through a black camera on a tripod. — Hollie has been practicing photography with her grandad, Harry, for the past two years

Harry’s picture, Lemon Tea, is a finalist in the On the Phone category, while Hollie’s Sprouting Onion piece is up for the youth prize, with chef Jamie Oliver one of the judges.

“You’ve always got a camera in your pocket, if you’ve got an iPhone or a smartphone. It enables you to capture images from anywhere really when you’re out and about, as long as you’re aware of the potential,” said Harry.

“Lemon Tea is a shot I did at home, shot directly down onto it, and I lit it from underneath. It’s all about controlling the light, photography, and that’s what I’ve been teaching Holly, how to use light to make things come alive.”

Lemon Tea (left) and Sprouting Onion (right) have both reached the finals of the prestigious food photography awards

Harry and Hollie/World Food Photography Awards On the left is a birdseye view of a mug with an orange liquid and a slice of lemon in it. On the right is a picture of a pot with soil with the shoots of an onion poking up above the soil. — Lemon Tea (left) and Sprouting Onion (right) have both reached the finals of the prestigious food photography awards

He continued: “What we did, we put the iPhone on a tripod and we can control it remotely, using Bluetooth, so we haven’t got to actually touch the phone when we do the shot.

“The awards evening is on the 20th [May] in the Mall gallery in London. We’ll be going up for that and then we’ll find out that evening whether we’ve won or not.”

Hollie said her entry was inspired by spring, adding: “The way we shot it, to me it looks really mystical because it’s the side lighting, it looks like the sun’s coming up from one direction and it’s coming down on to the onion.”

The awards take place on 20 May with the images going on show at an exhibition from 21-25 May.

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