Little Bytham teenager lands top photographic awards

A Little Bytham teenager is celebrating after winning a prestigious photography competition.

Thea Revell, 13, won the area Rotary Young Photographer competition after her three pictures from this year’s cold spell impressed judges.

This saw her progress through to the district competition, which covers Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and part of Cambridgeshire, which she also won.

Thea’s work was then put through to the national competition, for which she has been highly commended.

The accolade is the latest success for Thea, a student at Catserton College; the keen girl guide recently organised a fun day in Little Bytham to help raise money to attend a week-long visit to camp with her guiding counterparts in Belarus.

Thea said: “I’ve been taking pictures for a year now and take a lot of pictures of anything that catches my eye.

“I headed out in the cold spell earlier in the year to see what I could find.

“I took loads of pictures and was pleased with what I captured.

“I was amazed when I won the area competiton, and even more amazed when I won the district competition. Receiving a commendation in the national final is just brilliant; it has given me more confidence to take more pictures.”

Thea is attending an awards ceremony for the district competition at De Montfort University in Leicester on June 16 to receive her award.

Thea said: “This will be the first time I have seen my pictures blown up and I am looking forward to seeing them on display. It’s so exciting.”

The competition has inspired Thea to hone her art with a new digital camera and she has used this to help her fundraising efforts for her Bellarus trip.

She has even set up a studio in the hall of the family home and has taken portraits to raise money for her trip-of-a-lifetime.

Although she has now reached her target, she is keen to further develop her craft and is still available to take individual or family portraits, or pictures of animals.

She will use any funds raised to help her buy more photography equipment.

She said: “I love taking pictures, and I am happy to consider any request.”

Thea’s work can be seen on her Instagram page: thea_photography8. Anyone wishing to buy a picture should call 01780 410364.