A CREATIVE and talented Helston student has won through to the national finals of the Rotary's Young Photographer of the Year competition.

A shocked Jack Richards, 18, who is studying photography under Lesley Billingham at Helston Community College (HCC), was told the good news this week by Mick Timpson, local Rotary chairman of youth opportunities.

"They had to do some pictures on the environment," explained Mick. "Jack did photographs of buildings from unusual angles and they were just brilliant. They really stood out."

Mick added that the standard of Jack's photography and creativity had "blown the judges away".

"The talent that we have here is truly amazing. I couldn't believe it when I saw the entries, and to hear that Jack has won through to the national finals was the icing on the cake.

"It's a real achievement for him and the area, I think."

Four images had to be submitted by each photographer to the Helston Rotary Club competition.

Jack won first prize in the club section, with runner-up Isabel Cude, also from HCC, coming a close second.

Jack's images were then submitted to the district and regional competitions, both of which he did not know he had won.

Mick presented him with his prizes and trophy on Tuesday.

Jack said: "I'm really shocked, I thought I had just won the club competition but then I found out I had won more. It's really good.

"I like taking photos of urban landscapes and theses pictures will be used for a project I am doing at college."

Head judge for the club competition was Roland Lowery, from Porthleven.

He singled out Jack's balcony shot, below right.

"It showed man's impact on the environment due to construction and light pollution. We particularly liked the composition of curves and straight lines and the use of colour, especially the spill effect from the street lights," he said.

Jack added: "I entered this image as I thought that it showed how the environment has changed from grass and trees to buildings.

"The sky in this picture looks very smokey like pollution, which makes it perfect for the topic.

"I took this particular photograph as I had never seen balconies this shape, also the lighting makes the whole picture look surreal. I used a very long exposure with a small aperture to take as much detail as possible."

The winner of the national competition will be announced in May and Jack said: "I want to study photography at university and have a couple of interviews soon, so this is great to have on my CV."