Thank you to everyone who entered our “Life in the Age of Lockdown” Photography Competition. We had a fantastic response. We asked you to send us photographs that you thought would convey our experiences of life during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The photographs were judged both on their photographic quality and also for their storytelling. With the brilliant calibre of the photographs that we received, the work of the judges was both more enjoyable and harder while they tried to decide between them.

We have awarded one winner in each age category and one winner for the You Made Us Smile category, designed to help lift our spirits.

By Unanimous Vote their Overall Winner is Martha Griffiths, whose inspiring photograph is our featured header.

The judges were delighted with the quality of the entries and also recommended other photographs from each category to be listed as highly commended. Click the photographs to view larger version of some of them.

The Winners of our competition were announced on Sunday 21st February, during Potential Plus UK’s vPlus Festival. This free festival continues until Friday February 26th.

Winners 2021

Ages 7 and Under Winner

Rex B.

Person standing in front of a sign saying stay 2 metres apart

Ages 8-11 Winner

Joshua S.

black and white photograph of man in opticians chair with mask on

Ages 12-15 Winner

Hector Prince Hill

Man covered in lit fairy lights laughing at a laptop

Ages 16-19 Winner

Martha Griffiths

Child jumping crounched inside an irridescent soap bubble

You Made Us Smile

Sophia B.

Dog leaping in the snow

Highly Commended

Highly Commended Ages 7 and under
Rex B.

sepia image, solitary bird on a wall facing out to sea

Highly Commended Ages 8-11
Sophia B.

Dog leaping in the snow

Highly Commended Ages 8-11
Daisy K-S.

Child colouring in with felt pens in front of her like a rainbow

Highly Commended Ages 8-11
Iris R.

One single desk with children all working on electronic media

Highly Commended Ages 12-15
Evie Foster

Stitch soft toy wearing a mask behind a glass window

Highly Commended Ages 12-15
Fitim Misini

A small cutout figure pressed hard back against the corner inside a red box

Highly Commended Ages 12-15
Oscar Parker

Hand pressed against a glass window

Highly Commended Ages 16-19
Katy Rose Burns

A birthday cake with candles in front of someone wearing a mask

Highly Commended Ages 16-19
Magalena Ivkovic

Teenage boy with a mask pulled down to his chin

Highly Commended Ages 16-19
Emily Michael

At a desk, hand held out to catch hand gel being poured from a bottle

Highly Commended Ages 16-19
Bamila Sathyatharmakulaseelan

Edited black and white photograph. Cuddly bear sitting in front of a computer screen from which pixels are escaping looking like the virus spreading

Highly Commended You Made Us Smile
Joshua S.

A home tuckshop

Highly Commended You Made Us Smile
Finlay Smith-Lees

Three pebbles in the sunlight painted with rainbows

As you can see from the brilliant photographs above, the judges were looking for photographs which have impact and show creativity, that told a story, conveyed an idea, a message or a thought on the theme of Life in the Age of Lockdown and made effective use of photographic techniques like lighting, composition and colour.

Thank you to our judges for their great work:

  • Gregor Forrest of Gregor Forrest Photography (Instagram @gregor.forrest) is a semi-professional photographer with an interest in photographing people in fun and naturally captured settings such as music festivals and sport.
  • Francesca Glover is a Young Reporter for Potential Plus UK, aged 17, her special interests are in wildlife and macro photography.
  • Amanda McKim ( Facebook m.beckmckim ) is a visual artist who has worked in schools and the community for 25 years. Amanda has had a long association with Potential Plus UK, acting as a provider at our Big Family Weekends. Since Covid her work has taken a new direction with a series of reportage digital illustrations of covid life.
  • Zacchia Moore is a 16-year-old A-level photography student. She was recently selected to exhibit her photographs in the UK Black Female Photographers Exhibition: ‘We are Here’ at Walsall Gallery in Birmingham and recently ran a vPlus Session for Potential Plus UK.
  • Chris Page of Page Photography has been a professional photographer for 15 years. Chris specialises in portraiture – particularly school and large group photography – and is particularly interested in creative lighting techniques.
  • Hazel Plater is a family member of Potential Plus UK. Her photography focuses on documentary, street and landscape photography. Hazel’s work is currently featured in an exhibition space that has been closed since the first lockdown!