A “striking and powerful” shot of several bulls in Spain taken by a Bath student has claimed a runners-up slot in a prestigious national annual competition.
Oliver Riley, who studies photography at Bath Spa University, said he was “overwhelmed” to be a runner-up in the Calumet Student Photographer of the Year 2016 competition.
The 19-year-old’s image was of an annual event called the Running of the Bulls.
It involves people running in front of a small group of cattle that have been let loose in parts of the Spanish town, Pamplona.
Oliver, who scooped a £20 Calumet gift card and a year’s subscription to Professional Photography magazine, said: “A lot of thought and planning went into the image as I had to spend a lot of time researching where the best place would be to capture the shot, what street I should be on, at what height I should be and at what time.
“You have about 10 seconds to take the picture, so you’ve really got to get it right and so I was quite nervous.
“Also, I was hanging out of the balcony window, with the owner of the apartment who I didn’t really know, holding onto my legs so I could get the shot.
“So all the hard work paid off as being named a runner-up has made me proud and very surprised.”
The first-year student is hoping to pursue his photography career, specialising in animals and wildlife.
Calumet Photographic’s annual campaign was developed to encourage artistic photography among up-and-coming student photographers.
Jon Warner, Managing Director of Calumet Photographic, which has an online shop and eight stores across the country, said: “We were bowled over by the high level of talent which we saw this year and are proud we have, yet again, discovered some serious talent.
“The judging panel were struck by the striking and powerful image Oliver managed to shoot, which really makes you feel like you are part of the event.
“Hearing the amount of work he put into the research, even before he got to Spain, was also really impressive. But it paid off, because he captured a great moment where there’s so much to look at in the picture.
“At Calumet we’re passionate about photography and supporting people looking to further their photographic abilities. We believe this helps to celebrate people’s love for pictures and encourages artistic photography.
“We would like to congratulate the winner and the runners-up and thank everyone for participating.”
The national search for the UK’s number one student photographer was launched in partnership with major brands, including Canon, Fujifilm and Epson, and leading industry magazine Professional Photography.
The winner of the competition was a Leeds student called Henry Nathan with his shot of an image of light shining through a cave.
The 20-year-old’s picture won him a package of prizes worth over £11,000.
This year the shortlisted entries were reviewed by a panel of judges from the photography world, including Mr Warner, last year’s winner Oliver Henderson and Emma-Lily Pendleton, Editor of Professional Photography magazine.
Canon Ambassador Simeon Quarrie, who was also on the judging panel, said: “It was a huge honour to once again be asked to judge Calumet Photographic’s Student Photographer of the Year competition.
“It’s hugely encouraging to see the talent and passion out there and I was blown away by some of the images I saw, which says something about the status and quality of this competition.”
