Year 9’s Charlotte Robson picked up a camera for the first time during lockdown but months later found herself on the shortlist of an international photography competition.
Charlotte began taking online photography courses in the lockdowns last year and in January decided to enter the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2021, hosted by Pink Lady apples and sponsored by Fuji Film, Taittinger champagne and Marks and Spencer’s.
A whopping 10,000 images were submitted to the competition from photographers across 70 countries.
So Charlotte was astonished to hear that her entry, called Fry Away and depicting some coconut oil melting in a pan which resembled a world map, had been shortlisted in the last 28 in her age category, the 11-14 year olds. The judges included top food photographer David Loftus, the Guardian’s head of photography Fiona Shields, the head chef at the Four Seasons hotel in Paris Simone Zanoni, Taittinger president Vitalie Taittinger and London gallery owner Alison Jacques.
Normally, shortlisted photographers would have attended a glittering ceremony in London but this year watched as the winners were unveiled on a Youtube virtual event at the end of April.
Said Charlotte: “My passion for photography was sparked last year during lockdown when LOGS recommended a wildlife photography competition, run by the RSPCA. I decided to try, and it was thrilling from the very first shot. After getting to know the camera, I thought I might like to try to find a course or a club that could teach me how to really use it. I found a great club, Sharpshots photo club, and signed up. Since then, my love of photography has grown. A few months ago, my club told me about the Pink Lady food photography competition. Having developed an interest in food photography, I was excited to enter. When I received an email to say I had been shortlisted in my category, I was delighted! Though I didn’t win, it was such an honour to have had my photo chosen as a finalist, and to see it published on the competition website.”
Charlotte’s mum Gaynor added: “We were thrilled for Charlotte and logged into the award ceremony on the allotted date. It was at this point that we realized quite what a prestigious event it was in the food photography world. Just to be shortlisted is a huge achievement.”
Mr Blewitt added: “Lockdown was really tough for young people so to know that Charlotte used the time to learn such a skill is wonderful. She always throws herself 100% into everything she tries and we could not be more impressed with her first foray into the world of photography!”
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