Shoot Nations 2008 winners announced

Lancashire student William Lyte has won the UK category of the Plan Shoot Nations international photography competition.

The seventeen-year-old was crowned top snapper by Times Online readers, who voted in their thousands for their favourite image.

Plan UK and The Times Online got together for the global competition which saw more than 800 youngsters from 104 countries enter photographs.

The theme of this year’s competition was around Young People In A Changing Climate and William’s shot of an overflowing weir on the River Ribble was a hit with Times readers.

William said: “I was totally gob smacked when they told me I’d won. It’s just amazing.

“I first heard about the competition when I logged onto my MySpace page. I’m doing an A Level in Photography at the moment so I knew it was something I wanted to get involved in.

“My picture was inspired by the work of Don McCullin, he’s my idol really. I wanted to take a shot that was very dark and moody.

“I thought the perfect place to do that was at an old salmon trap on a weir on the river near my house.

“When I looked at it I knew I’d be able to get that foreboding feeling I was looking for. I thought the atmosphere really represented the world’s attitude to climate change.”

William won the chance to travel to Canada on August 12 to represent the UK at the World Youth Congress in Quebec. The event marks the UN-backed International Youth Day.

William’s winning photograph will be on display at the congress along with winners of the other Shoot Nations categories.

William added: “The trip to Canada should be amazing, I’ve never been there before so it will be a real adventure. I’m also looking forward to seeing the other winners’ photographs.”

Plan UK’s Head of Communications Sharon Goulds said: “William is clearly a very talented young photographer and we are delighted he has won the opportunity to travel to Canada to represent Shoot Nations at the International Youth Confrence.

“There was a huge interest in this competition and the theme of climate change. We at Plan believe getting young people’s perspective on this issue is key to tackling it in the future."

All the winning entries from the young photographers were showcased in London at the Oxo gallery on the South Bank and can be seen online at the Shoot Nations website.

There are a wealth of UK learning resources to accompany the project, for geography, citizenship and media studies. Follow the links to access the resources:
Climate change
Photography as a tool for communication

Find out more about Shoot Nations in 2007