Young photographers zoom in on community

Photograph: The winning entry in the senior category by Cathy Comerford of wellies after a day clearing snow.

Perfect pictures have been flooding in from talented youngsters for the Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI) Young Photographer competition 2011.

The contest provided judges with an incredible range of images which captured the essence community spirit.

Coming top of the senior category was 17 year old Cathy Comerford from Bedfordshire who took pictures of protests, environmentalists and travellers pondering over a map in Paris. Cathy says her picture of wellies tells the story of clearing snow:  “This was captured when the residents of my lane came in for tea after clearing the snow. This shows how the community have come together to help. As you can see the wellies are green, except one contrasting red pair, which became the main focus of the photograph.”

Topping the intermediate category was Joe Marsden from Derby. His portfolio included images of the local RNLI crew and volunteers helping  tidy the garden of a single mum who has two disabled children. His featured picture below was taken at Steeple Grange, which organises special days for underprivileged children from Leicester.

In the junior category, 10 year old Meghan Flannery from Peebles, Scotland, caught the judges eye with her pictures of dancers, Remembrance Sunday poppies, a local sign post and the Eastgate Theatre (pictured below).  “The inspiration for my photographs were a charity dance show, remembrance day, places for people to meet showing the best of what our community has to offer.  I would describe these photos is a small part of a flourishing community spirit. After all, you cannot have community spirit without people”