22 May 2020

The magazine programme Heno has announced the winners of its photography competition – 19-year-old Llŷr Dafydd Evans from Moelfre, Anglesey won the Adults category, and Kia-jo Lloyd from Bethel near Caernarfon came first in the Under 16 category. They both win an iPad as a prize.

Each year, the popular competition attracts many entries, but all records were broken this spring, with over a thousand photographs submitted by 620 competitors.

Llŷr Dafydd Evans' winning entry in the adults competition.

The competition's themes were "The Home" or "The Garden" for two categories – Adults and Under 16s.

The competition's judge, Kristina Banholzer, a professional photographer from Felinheli, Caernarfon, was fascinated by Llŷr Dafydd Evans's winning photograph of a man holding a pheasant under his arm:

"When I saw this photo, I immediately thought 'this is it'. To me, the portrait of this man screams hope in this time. I don't know what this man's story is, but I want to know more. It's a superb portrait" says Kristina.

Llŷr, who studies Graphics at the University of Arts London, enjoys taking photographs in his spare time. The man in his image is his father:

"I took photos at London Fashion Week before the lockdown. I have a real interest in fashion. Then at the beginning of lockdown I came home to mix cement with dad, so they are two very different worlds. I wanted to combine the two aspects – fashion and home," said Llŷr.

"Dad has been feeding a pheasant which has come to the garden for about a year, and I wanted to include it in the photo, but I couldn't catch it! Then while going for a walk, we saw a pheasant which had been killed by a car on the side of the road, so we used it in the photo! Although it looks quite natural, it's set up! The shirt that dad's wearing is a French brand, so there's a bit of fashion photography alongside real life!" adds Llŷr.

Kia-jo Lloyd's winning entry in the Under 16 competition.

12-year-old Kia-jo's photo of a butterfly made an impression on the judge in the Under 16 category:

"Of all the nature photos, including the ones sent in by adults, I think this was my favourite – the colours are beautiful," said Kristina.

"I was given a camera as a Christmas present, and I really enjoy taking photos. There was something about this photo which I loved, but I was speechless when I heard I had won" says Kia, who is a pupil at Ysgol Brynrefail.

The winners will appear on Heno programme on Monday 25 May at 6.30.